Death Suit
by Avatar Roxas
Summary: An old student of the academy has been captured and Kid is desperate to rescue her. Just who is she, and how did she become a death scythe at only 13? How do Stein and Kid know her? Why is she so protective of everyone? How come Soul feels like he knows her though they've never met? Some Soma guaranteed.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first fabric so if I'm criticized I'll take your word for it. I don't know the first thing about writing stories, so some noob love would be appreciated. I can't tell you how long I've had this idea just rolling around in my head. I hope you enjoy!;)

I don't own Soul Eater. But if I did, I'd be lying on a bed made of money (obviously).

"You're _dead_ , you _little asymmetrical punk_!", shouted an infuriated Death the Kid.

The presumed punk, Blackstar, had spray-painted the shinigami's house — on only one side.

Needless to say Kid wasn't very happy about his new renovations. Blackstar knew of his power, especially when something wasn't symmetrical. He just didn't think Kid was _nearly_ as powerful as him, The Almighty Blackstar.

Of course, that was until he noticed the death god speeding towards him, toppling buildings in his wake on his rocket-powered skateboard.

 _Right_ , Blackstar thought, _I'm dead._

The blue-haired ninja ran as fast he could, making it as far as just outside of Shibusen before noticing something odd in the desert. A mile or so away, a large square-like object rose from the sand. Whatever it was, it caused Kid to stop dead in his tracks.

 _Kid is_ actually _stopping his dumb rant for that thing?_

"Hey, Reaper boy!", said Blackstar, "The great Blackstar is waiting for you! Come down here and face me!"

Kid landed and made Beelzebub vanish into his palm. He still held a terrifying anger in his face. Blackstar, however, was far too daft and naïve to take it in.

"I should shoot you for desecrating my beautiful, _perfectly symmetrical_ home," said the shinigami, trying not to break his usually polite composure,"but something about that object seems more important to me."

 _What could be more important to him than his stupid symmetry?,_ Blackstar thought. _This is unacceptable! I wanted a fight and I'm gonna get one!_

Kid started to walk to whatever lay in the distance, while Blackstar trailed behind him, shouting for a fight all the way.

"C'mon, Kid! Fight me! You know you wanna! Whatever then, I'll just keep messing with you 'til you do. I know! I'll make the _inside_ of your house messy, too. Betcha wanna kill me now, huh? Well, you can't. Because I am The Great Blacksta—", he realized how ineffective his words were once he saw Kid's face. Usually Blackstar's mere presence irritated him, but now Kid's attention was on the object out there.

This had Blackstar baffled beyond all belief. Something or someone was taking the spotlight from him. Instead of being angered by this occurrence, he too was now curious about what could be so great.

For the remainder of the distance, Blackstar kept quiet as well.

But still, he couldn't help wondering, _What's gotten into Kid that he doesn't care about symmetry?_

A/N: I hope that this first chapter is good enough. I wanted to get you curious, but if you wanted more details first then I'm sorry. Just tell me what you thought and I'll continue ASAP.

Bye-bye!:)


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I was so happy to get my first follower this morning! Thank you so much, **ftlover280**. I'll be sure to check out your profile. Here's chapter two, probably better than the first one.

I don't own Soul Eater, Maka would have kissed Soul if I did.

After 10 minutes of walking, they reached it. It appeared to be some kind kind of entrance, almost resembling a cellar door or bomb shelter.

Kid proceeded to open the door. Sand fell off as he pulled it up.

"Just as I thought." said Kid.

A short stone stairway led down to a tunnel leading somewhere dark.

"Blackstar, can you feel that?"

"Feel what?" said Blackstar. He turned to Kid as he asked. The shinigami had his entire body, possibly even his soul, concentrated on something down there. Of course, Blackstar couldn't tell. He was still working on the "soul perception" thing.

"I can sense part of a soul in a room underground, that's where the tunnel will lead us." Kid had drawn a mental map of the structure in the two seconds it took him to open the door.

"Woah, seriously?" Blackstar was surprised with his abilities.

"Let's go." Kid said as he began his descent.

"Hey, wait!" Blackstar replied, "You're usually the cautious one, don't you think something's dangerous in there?"

Kid didn't stop or respond.

"Kid! Hey! Earth to Death!" No use. He seemed to be hypnotized by the wavelength. Blackstar gave in and followed once more. It was becoming darker and darker the farther they even when it went pitch black, Kid kept going. Blackstar heard his footsteps and could tell how far apart they were, so he had no difficulty in the dark.

Kid thought to himself about the presence he felt before him.

 _This soul... or at least a fragment of one..._

 _Why is it so... familiar?_

 _I know... that there's a name that comes to mind... when I feel this wavelength..._

 _But what is it?_

His thoughts were interrupted by the door he walked into. Kid could feel the soul fragment on the other side. He tried to feel around for a doorknob and found it on the left.

Light poured out of the room as he opened the door. It was a small area that almost looked like a walk-in closet space, only without shelves. The room smelled musty and the walls looked decayed.

A light bulb hung from the ceiling, which was somehow strong enough to illuminate the room for however many years this place existed.

The only other object was a small chest. It was painted blue and had "caution" and "don't touch" written in red on yellow strips of duct tape. The top said "SOUL BOX" in big black letters.

"We came all the way down here for a box?", said Blackstar.

"The soul fragment is inside of the box." Kid replied. He tried to open the box, but it wouldn't budge.

"Strange, it's locked."

"Maybe if we take it to your house—", Blackstar remembered what he'd done to Kid's house and immediately corrected himself, "I–l mean Maka's house, we'll call up the others and we can figure it out."

Kid didn't even notice Blackstar's mess-up,"Good idea. Let's get out of here."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~La-la, la-la-la, this is the scene change song!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So you're saying that a piece of a soul is in that box?", said Tsubaki, who accompanied Kid's weapons, Liz and Patty, to come with Kid and Blackstar. They were halfway up the stairs to Maka and Soul's apartment.

"Weird, right?", said Blackstar, "He was practically in a trance the whole way."

"Sis, does that mean that a person is in the box?", said Patty, quite curious about her meister's new interest.

Liz, the older sister, was more worried than curious. What Blackstar said held true even now. Kid was focused only on the wavelength and still didn't look where he was going.

When they finally reached the apartment, it was Soul who answered the door.

"What's the big oh-so important thing you had to show us?", he said. He looked tired and annoyed to be bothered on a Saturday.

Kid didn't bother to answer him and walked past. He walked into the kitchen where Maka was feeding Blair some tuna, she was currently in her cat form.

" Oh! Kid, hi! You started me.", said Maka. She looked at him and saw the chest he was carrying, instantly sensing the piece of the soul inside.

But what bothered her was the resemblance it bore to the box Soul was trapped in during the battle against the Kishin. It was almost an exact replica of the original, only with years of dust covering it.

 _Soul's box... and this one_ , she wondered, _but why would..._

"Soul, come in here!", she yelled. He walked in with the others crowded behind him. "This box, do you remember it?"

As Soul observed the chest, his face changed from a look of boredom to one of familiarity. He looked up at Kid,"Where did you guys find this?"

"In an underground tunnel in the desert.", said Kid."It was just outside the city."

"You and Maka have seen it before, too?" Blackstar asked.

They nodded. "When I went inside Soul during the battle with Asura, he sealed himself in a box just like that to stop the madness from corrupting him.", said Maka."The details are downright eerie."

"Was there a key with it?", asked Soul. Kid shook his head.

Maka was still observing the soul fragment's wavelength. It seemed almost like her own, and Soul's,too for that matter. She didn't understand why, though.

"Soul," she said, his attention immediately on her,"I think that if we touch the box, it'll react to it."

"Huh?", Soul said confusedly.

"I mean our souls in contact with it together might open it."

"Really? How do you know?"

"Isn't that how the key worked before?"

Soul still seemed confused, but he shrugged and obeyed his meister. He outstretched his hand and Maka followed. They slowly approached the box, and the others became an anxious audience.

Soul and Maka's fingers touched the chest simultaneously. As they made contact, Maka saw their wavelengths pour into the box, swirling around the soul fragment inside. Suddenly, the box clicked open, and they drew back their hands in surprise.

"It worked.", Soul whispered.

Kid turned it in his hands and looked in the box. There was a paper folded inside, next to a glowing blue stone. It was the fragment.

He put the box down on the table and removed the paper. Then he rapidly unfolded it, widening his eyes as he saw its contents. There was a photo. Kid was in it, and another person, too.

Everyone was puzzled to see him in the picture, but what was more strange was who was in it with him. It was a girl. She had pure, white, long curly hair that fell down to her waist and had bangs just above her eyebrows. Her eyes were green and happy-looking, her entire complexion read she was having a good time. She was wearing a black jumpsuit, one white line coming down each shoulder and ending at her hips. She and Kid were in a position where both their hands came together to form a heart in the center of the photo.

 _Of course he's in a symmetrical pose_ , Liz thought, _who is she, though?_

The corner of photo had a message: **Sorry I made you forget. Think you could come get me?**

After looking the picture over, everyone turned to Kid. He was shaking, like he'd seen a ghost. He mumbled something under his breath.

"What was that, Kid?", Liz asked.

" _Samantha... Samantha's in trouble._ "

Before she could ask more, Kid was already headed out the door. Everyone ran after him.

They were all clueless, but they knew something was wrong so they didn't question his speedy retreat. So they wondered in silence: _Who is Samantha?_

A/N: Tell me what you thought and I'll update soon. I worked really hard on this one. Thanks again!

Bye-bye!:)


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I'm really happy to be writing today. Once again, thank you, **ftlover280** , for your follow and fav. And **Angela** , I hope my story will meet your satisfaction as well.

I don't own Soul Eater, the guy with the super cool and obviously Japanese name owns it. Thanks for that, by the way, Atsushi Ōkubo.

Kid was frantically flying through Shibusen to reach the DWMA where his father and Professor Stein were likely busy. _Their current tasks aren't important_ , Kid thought, _this is an emergency!_

"Kid!"

He looked below where his friends, and more specifically his older weapon, stood with frustrated and confused faces. If Kid were an impractical person, he would have kept going without explaining to them why he flew off. But he owed them for making them worry. _I gotta be quick about this._

Beelzebub landed and vanished as hastily as a timely person such as Kid could muster. He didn't think how scared he looked to everyone else until he saw Patty. She was a very optimistic person, always smiling and laughing at anything and everything. Her expression now was one of a child that was just told her dog was going to die.

"I'm sorry I didn't fill you in more. As your friend and meister, you should know what's happening."

"Ya don't say?", replied a very offended Liz.

Kid cringed at her words, but he knew he deserved it. "Look," said Kid,"All I can tell you is that she's in trouble and I have to save her. This is _really bad_ and I don't know how long she has left. My dad or Stein can fill you in better, but I need to get to the mirror to figure out where she is."

"How do you know she's in trouble?", said Blackstar.

"I just _know._ " Kid was about to burst.

Tsubaki put her hand on her meister's shoulder. "We get the idea, we'll meet you there."

Kid didn't need more than that. He nodded and took to the sky once more.

"Hey! That wasn't enough, I wanted to know more!", Liz said.

"He said Stein knows. Besides, if someone is in danger we shouldn't stop him." Tsubaki was right, but Liz couldn't shake her feeling of jealousy after seeing Samantha in the photo.

"We'd better hurry.", said Soul.

They all began to sprint as fast as possible, wishing they could be anywhere near as fast as the shinigami.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~La-la, la-la-la, this is the scene change song~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took the gang a while, but they finally reached the hall of guillotines that led to the Death Room. When they reached the room, Maka was greeted by a glomping from her father. This hug was less goofy and more loving and concerned.

"Papa! Quit it! Get off!", Maka yelled.

"I'm never letting you go Maka. _Never again._ " Spirit's voice was barely a whisper, he sounded like he'd been crying.

"Papa, what...", she could hear the sadness and gave in to the embrace.

The others, who weren't being groped, saw Lord Death in front of his mirror. He appeared to be searching for something with distant look and deep concentration. Kid was pacing behind his father, and Stein was seated at the edge of the platform. He had his head in his hands and his leg was shaking. An uncommon pose for someone so level-headed and detached.

 _How does he know Samantha?_ , Maka thought. Eventually, Spirit gave his daughter space, but he still seemed upset.

"Lord Death?", Maka asked.

The older shinigami finally noticed the world behind him. "Oh! Hey-hey! Hi-hi! What's up?"

Maka ignored his explosive greeting and went ahead, "Do you think you could tell me what's going on? Who's Samantha and why is she in danger?"

If there was happy demeanor behind his skull mask, it must have disappeared. He turned back towards the mirror. "This all started eight years ago. Samantha was apparently raised by witches, captured when she was young to become a kishin."

Everyone, excluding Kid, Stein, and Spirit, was enthralled with Lord Death and his story.

"Now Samantha happens to be a rare weapon, a power suit to be exact. She was also a meister, trained by the witches to be a perfect fighter. However,she didn't give into their will. I'm not sure why. Eventually she escaped and came to Stein, who taught her how to wield more weapons and entered her in the academy at eight years old. Stein had adopted her after a few months, and because of her extensive skills, could interchange between weapon and meister partners. She met Kid somewhere along the way, and their friendship turned into love. Samantha would still be tracked by a witch now and again, but she was always happy, and she became a Death Scythe at age thirteen. Not shortly after, we— anyone who knew her lost any memory of her. She's that powerful, I'm guessing she was captured and didn't want to endanger anybody. Now the situation has flipped on her and she needs help."

Once he was finished, everyone had different expressions: awe, shock, worry, and others that couldn't be distinguished. No one had had the time to react when the mirror flashed white.

"I found her!", Lord Death proclaimed. This made Stein spring up and to life. His eyes were wide and waiting, apparently for a daughter no one knew he had.

"Let me see!", Kid yelled. His father backed away immediately. The others ran up behind Kid to see what had become of Samantha.

What had kept her prisoner was no cell. It was a bubble, constructed by the soul of a witch. She was sleeping, her body signifying pain. There was barely any fabric on her tattered clothes.

Stein no longer seemed so quiet. The rage he usually kept under bandages was slowly unraveling.

Both he and Kid thought the same thing.

 _That witch..._

 _Will_ _ **pay**_ _for hurting her._

A/N: I wish I could have done this quicker, homework sucks.

See you soon, bye-bye!:)


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you **ftlover280** and **Angela**! Your reviews make my day. Let's get started!

I don't own Soul Eater, but honestly, what teen can even _think_ about claiming such a masterpiece from the Japanese?

The gang now knew where to go from the coordinates Lord Death gave them. Stein and Spirit accompanied the group. They didn't know what kind of witch they were dealing with and needed the professional help. Either way, though, Stein wanted to see his daughter, and Spirit his apprentice-slash-partner. Each weapon was clung by their meister excluding Soul, who drove with Maka on his motorcycle. Kid, of course, was on his skateboard along with his twin pistols. Blackstar simply ran with all the ninja stealth he could muster without tiring himself before the possible battle. Stein did the same, easily keeping up with Blackstar, no sweat.

They were an hour into the journey before Maka broke the silence. "Professor Stein?"

"Mmm?" His reply came as more of groan. It was obvious he knew what she wanted to talk about and he didn't want to hear it.

She pressed onward, regardless. "I'm sorry to ask you this, but even though you teach at the academy, I didn't really think you were that fond of younger people, let alone one staying in your house. Why did you take her in?"

He didn't take long to answer. "Because she didn't entirely seem like a child. She had to mature pretty quickly with the witches, I'm guessing.", he looked downwards despite his running speed. "When she came to me, she was running away from a witch at the time. She was bleeding a little on her arm, but it didn't seem to bother her. From inside my house, I could sense that the witch was bent out of shape, too, only far worse. So when Samantha crossed over onto my property, she fled. When I walked out to find her, Samantha was kneeling against a tree. Her arm had already mostly healed, but she was still panting from flying..."

 _Flying_ , Maka repeated in her head, _I forgot she's a power suit, she could probably use rocket boots or a jetpack. Her being a weapon_ and _a meister, it must give a bunch of extra abilities. Like how she altered their memories._

Just as her thoughts were finished, Stein continued where he left off. "She stared at me the whole time as I walked in front of her, like she didn't know whether to trust me or not.", he began to smile, for what he was about to say next was no bitter memory. "When she finally spoke, she sounded so much like an adult, I almost burst out laughing. She said, 'If you felt my soul, the least you could have done was bend her arm over or something!' She didn't even know me, yet she could read my soul so easily, you should know I'm not so easy to read."

"True.", said Maka.

"As much as I would have loved to dissect such a specimen, she was only a little girl, and at the time, observing her seemed more interesting. I took her in the house and asked her about the witches and her training, and when I was done I told her with a little more work, she could enter the academy. After that her face lit up like a Christmas tree. Even after our time training she said she wanted to stay with me. Because we'd both become attached, I let her. And the next few years, we protected each other, witches and kishin alike. The rest is history." When he was done with his tale, he was still smiling. He knew Samantha was in danger, but somehow he also knew things would work out in the end.

"We're here!", Kid shouted. Another two miles away, there was a lake. It was barren of any plants or trees around it, and there seemed to be no life on land or in water.

Soul parked his motorcycle and immediately changed into a scythe. Maka clasped him tightly and ran ahead to meet the others.

"You ready, Maka?", Soul said in his metallic tone.

"You know it!", she replied.

"How is this the witch's lair?", Blackstar asked. To one of his intelligence, he couldn't see any significance in the lake before him.

"There must be a tunnel somewhere by the shore, or maybe an entrance underwater.", Maka answered,"The real question is how do we find it?"

"Maybe if you find her soul, we can follow the wavelength and see the way in.", said Soul.

"Yeah—"

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Patty was laughing out of control. "There's a beached whale trying to swim on land! HAHAHA!"

Kid was about to knock some sense into his weapon when he remembered, _Whales don't live in lakes._

He looked towards what looked like a real whale, but he sensed it had an artificial soul, a cheap witch trick. But any amatuer would have thought it was real. It went without saying for the other meisters (except Blackstar) and they ran down the beach toward it.

With a closer look, everyone could tell it was a fake. It didn't breathe, but instead made mechanical sounds, like gears clicking and an engine whirring. The witch must have thought that was a good enough disguise, for there was no security monitors or trip wires to be seen. Stein opened the whale's mouth and saw a flight of stairs. _This is it._ He then ushered his students to follow in his descent.

 _One step closer, Sam. I'm coming to save you._

A/N: I know, I still haven't gotten to the good stuff, just hang in there. I'm sorry I didn't get more done today, it's late and I can't stay up too long. Two quizzes tomorrow = not fun. I'll get more tomorrow, promise! Bye-bye!:)


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Two. More. _Followers!_ I'm so happy! The only problem is that this chapter is late. So sorry, guys. This weekend, the new chapters will come out quicker. Maybe even two chapters a day! Once again thanks to **ftlover280** and **Angela**. And now, my two newest readers, **animedancer14** and **pokemon73**. Thanks to you as well! Any other readers out there, thank you!

I don't own Soul Eater, but if I did, right now I'd be with scientists who could create Kid and make him love me! Or Soul, still can't choose between them...

Samantha lay on her back, fingers thrumming a melody on the watery surface of the soul bubble she was trapped in. As she heard the tune in her head, her soul wavelengths brought the sound to life. This was one of her most powerful techniques, Soul Symphony, now rendered useless by her prison and spells Ursula, the witch, cast to weaken her.

 _ **Just remember**_ , said Samantha's sound mind, _**this is all for Kid and your dad.**_

 _Yeah_ , she replied with her own inner voice. _Speaking of which..._

Regardless of being taken willingly by Ursula to keep him safe, Samantha still didn't trust the witch to leave Kid be. So she would reach out to his soul daily to ensure he was alright. However, a few days ago, Ursula had drugged her to make her sleep for a few days, Samantha knew this was obviously to keep her distracted.

 _What's Ursula planning?_ , she thought.

Her thoughts immediately went back to Kid and her dad. Was she going to use them against her?

Samantha began to use her heightened soul perception to see where they were. It only took her two seconds. If it only took that long then they were close. All three of them. Others, too. Nine people in all, and her three's minds were more more complete than the last she left them.

 _They remember me. That's_ impossible _, they weren't supposed to find my fragment for another two years!_

She set it to go off a few days after Kid would have taken his father's place, then would be the epitome of his power. Samantha knew how strong a shinigami his age would be, most certainly stronger than even her. But she believed that even he couldn't take on a witch like Ursula right now, team or no team.

 _ **And that's how she used your fragment against you**_ , her sound body said.

 _What am I going to do?_

 _ **Break out.**_ It was both her mind and body speaking simultaneously.

 _What?!_

 _ **Ursula broke the deal, now you have the right to go. You can get Kid, Spirit, your dad, all of them out safely.**_

 _But the bubble..._

 _ **Sam. It's a bubble. You're gonna tell everybody you were beaten by a bubble?**_ Her mind was the encouraging and witty one.

 _No..._

 _No._

 _No!_

"I _won't_ be beaten by a bubble!"

Samantha stood up inside her sphere. Knowing her family might be in danger gave her the strength to move. She crossed her wrists high above her head and in a flash of light, was clothed in only her soul, the power suit she became.

Samantha started throwing beams of light that played her life's current song. It was one of freedom and hope. And it was breaking the bubble.

 _Dad, Spirit, Kid. I'm getting us out of here!_

With another strike, Samantha could break free. But mid-swing, her musical notes fell short. Her suit disappeared, leaving her in the same tattered rags as before.

She felt a jab on her left side, and the drugs kicked in again.

 _I can't pass out._

 _Not now._

 _Dad._

 _Spirit._

 _Kid._

 _No!_

With the last of her energy, she tried desperately to reach out once more to one of their souls, hopefully warning them before they're close enough for Ursula to hurt them.

The team was headed down what seemed like endless corridors, they still hadn't figured out how to get to Samantha.

 _ **Kid, stop!**_ A voice had invaded Kid head, causing him to pause. Everyone else had noticed and backtracked.

"What is it, Kfrom It was the first time Liz had spoken in a while, the situation had definitely taken it's toll on her, abruptly pausing her jealousy.

"Something's not right.", he said. "I just heard her voice in my head, she told me to stop. Why would she say that if she wanted me here?"

"Because she didn't.", said Stein, "This is a trap."

The corridor suddenly went dark. The meisters could feel their weapons snatched from them.

" _Maka!_ "

" _Soul!"_

One by one, they were all knocked out, helpless from the witch they were to face.

A/N: Tell me what you thought. Too tired to write more. 11:47 p.m. Need sleep.

Bye-bye!:)


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Is it weird that I'm still freaking out about people who like my story? Well I am, and there's nothing I can do about it XD! I'm so happy! Thank you all for favs, follows, and reviews. I'm so grateful!

 **ftlover280** : This next one'll make you burst with excitement!

 **Angela** : In all honesty, I just called it Death Suit because she's a power suit and a death scythe. I was thinking about Iron Man, except without a mask and in a jumpsuit-like outfit. I didn't know they were real until you told me. Lol! Anyway, thanks for the appreciation!

 **animedancer14** : Yes, I've never done this before. I'll definitely check your profile. Thanks!

:I'll be sure to check you out as well, thank you for following my story!

I don't own Soul Eater, if I did Kid's hair would have stayed symmetrical after the final episode. :(

Kid woke feeling sore. He knew that his team was now imprisoned by the witch, Ursula.

His body was wrapped tightly enough to break human bone. Lucky for a shinigami of course, but it was still a large pain and a struggle to breathe. Kid could feel his bindings slice his skin and blood trickle in the cracks of the brick floor.

The vision in his left eye was blurred, but he could make out his comrades in soul bubbles.

 _Liz! Patty!_

Kid felt too weak to make out the state of their souls. His sight didn't help that either. He either had to call out to them or get up. With the former, he could risk more pain for all of them. But the latter, however, would hurt him only.

"Rise and shine, little death god." A sinister voice called out.

Kid was lifted in the air so fast, his head was spinning. It hurt immensely from whiplash.

"Kid!", his team called out. Although he was groggy, Kid could tell even from high up that they all had the energy to stand.

 _They're okay_. He beamed with relief for two seconds before remembering what he came for.

He slowly turned his head towards the supposed witch, taking in the truly grotesque form that was Ursula.

She was far worse than the depictions in stories and movies. A pale white wisp of a body, almost paper-thin, had large octopus tentacles under a beige dress that was slightly torn near the bottom. Ursula's hair resembled her tentacles; sickly green and covered in slime and sand. It draped over most of her face, but what could be seen there were her dark yellow eyes. Definitely uglier than any other witch they faced so far.

Kid's fear was overridden by anger, however.

"Where..." He coughed between words, "Where...is she? What have...you done to her?"

"We'll get to your reunion soon enough, Junior.", she said in a voice as slimy as her. "Unfortunately, I hadn't made any progress with her these past three years."

Kid laughed bitterly, "Samantha...would never... give in...to someone...no...some _thing_ like you."

"Maybe...", she said serenely. His restraints tightened so much that he let out a yelp. "But maybe not."

It was just as agonizing for his friends, for they had to watch his suffering.

When Ursula suddenly let go, Kid felt like slapping himself for letting something so arrogant slip out.

"She may be strong-willed on her own, but with you in the picture," her words were a slap to the face, "I believe we are about to get some results."

Stein and Spirit were now more terrified than the last time from what she said next:

"Of course if it doesn't work with you, I'll have two more to use as incentive."

Any hope that they had left was completely drained. This was a lose-lose situation, Samantha either becomes a kishin or they all die or become prisoners forever.

 _It's over_ , Kid thought, defeated.

To his surprise, Ursula cried out in a hideous shriek and Kid fell from her grip. He could breathe a lot better and could move even with the injuries. Every eye turned from the witch who had been struck to a large crumbling hole in the wall.

Samantha's arm was rolling off steam from the shot she'd taken.

"You could have hurt me all you wanted... You could have _killed_ me if you wanted to!" Her voice rose into a mighty roar unlike any the students had ever heard. "But nobody threatens my family! Not my weapon! Not my dad!"

With a blink of an eye, the soul bubbles were shattered by Samantha's beams of light and sound.

" **No one hurts my Kid!** "

Ursula came angrily rushing towards her. But in the second it took her to charge, Samantha had already grabbed hold of Soul's wrist and flipped him into the air, making him a scythe and slicing clean through the witch. All that remained was a glowing purple soul that floated in midair.

Everyone was trapped in awe and dumfounded air.

Samantha released Soul, who then turned back into a human, and ran straight for the injured Kid. He seemed a little better from being set free from Ursula, because now he was on his hands and knees trying to make his head stop spinning. So he didn't expect Samantha to start hugging him and crying on his shoulder.

"Sam, wha—"

"I thought–I thought that she was going to kill you," she bawled. "I m-made you forget because y-you got r-really hurt because of me, and now it's-s happened again."

Kid looked up at her, and her face was flushed with years worth of crying. " _I'm_ so _sorry, Kid!"_

He sat up as straight as he could and pulled Samantha in close, her head tucked under his chin. She was crying like a baby, but Kid didn't care.

"You were there thousands of times for me," he whispered, "the least I can do is take some hits for you."

She moaned in response and continued to silently sob into his chest. Samantha would fall asleep in his arms, and Stein would carry her home.

A/N: This is not the end! 'Tis only the beginning! Please tell me how I did, and I will get more done this weekend. Bye-bye!?


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reads! So glad to be writing for you.

 **ftlover280:** かわいい! Kawaii everywhere!

 **What2do:** I'm gonna work Crona into this next chapter today!

I don't own Soul Eater. But if I did, then it would still be going.

The team was currently working its way to Stein's house, a shorter distance than the DWMA and stocked with medical equipment. But because of Samantha's quickly improving health, they slowed to a walking pace. Stein was certain that Ursula worked alone and they wouldn't be followed.

Said scientist was carrying his daughter on his back, smiling all the way. Spirit walked behind his meister with just as much happiness.

The only person in the group who stuck out at the moment was Soul, he was puzzled with what happened in the lair. After that battle, he observed Samantha much closer.

 _I just can't shake this weird feeling..._

"Soul, can you please tell me what's bothering you?", Maka said in a concerned tone.

"It's nothing, I'm fine." He knew she'd keep prying, but it was the best he could come up with while so distracted.

Maka tried to sympathize with her weapon, but she wanted to help, too.

"Is it about how Samantha wielded you without asking?"

"No, I understood that. I was the closest one to her and she needed a weapon."

"So then what bothered you?", she prodded.

Soul now felt compelled to tell Maka for once, the chances were she knew better than he did.

"It just that– How could she have known that I could match wavelengths with her? And when she wielded me, why did it feel the same as when you do?" _She even kinda_ looks _like you, too!_

Of course he'd never say that out loud. But it was driving him mad how Samantha's face, especially her green eyes, eerily resembled his meister's. Even more so how her hair seemed like his own, of course more long and feminine, but pure white just the same.

Maka did her best to make sense of this. "Samantha is a four-star meister _and_ death scythe. It's possible she sensed your soul beforehand and knew how to match up with you. That, or she was just winging it. And as for feeling the same as me...", her voice trailed off.

"Well?", Soul said impatiently.

"I'm the only person who's ever been your partner, right? Others might feel the same to you because of that."

"Blackstar didn't feel the same. Then again, he couldn't pick me up if his life depended on it."

"Ha ha, yeah.", she laughed. "I'm sure it was just a coincidence that Samantha felt like me. Do you feel better now?"

"Yeah," Soul brushed it off, for now. He turned to Stein and looked at Samantha, and concentrated on her chest. _Way too big to be Maka's_ , he thought.

Out of nowhere Maka brought a book down on Soul's head. The motorcycle swerved and he parked.

"What did you chop me for?!", Soul cried.

"'Cause my body _knew_ you were having dirty thoughts!"

Kid saw Stein was exhausted and took Samantha the rest of the way. It didn't take long after that to reach the house.

"When we get inside, lay Samantha on her bed and I'll patch up what's left of her wounds.", Stein said.

Kid dashed straight for her room with Maka and Spirit trailing behind him. When he laid her down, Spirit ushered everyone into the living room so Stein could work, and a long silence ensued.

Blackstar gave a loud puff of annoyance. "Why are you guys sulking? We won, didn't we? We should be celebrating! Everyone remembers everything, a family is reunited, Kid's got his girlfriend back, and she slayed a witch! What's not to be happy about?"

Everybody was surprised at his outburst, but what he said was more amusing. A lot deeper than the normal Blackstar. Tsubaki was beaming with joy at his uplifting attitude.

Liz was expecting Kid to say that Samantha wasn't his girlfriend, but he just sat there and smiled. Now that the witch was gone, she let the jealousy loom over her again like a storm cloud.

Maka wasn't paying attention to anyone but her dad, who looked better on the outside, but his soul looked frightened. Spirit had gone through a lot today, and it was too much a father to take. Maka knew he needed her right now, and she was willing to give him some today.

She scooched next to her father and gave him an awkward side-hug. It had been ages since Spirit had gotten a real hug from his daughter. And he was enjoying every second of it.

The moment was disturbed by a knock on the door. Kid was closest and went to answer it. He opened the door to see a pink-haired boy having his cheek pulled by a creature that sprouted from his back.

"Hello, Crona.", Kid said.

"Hi, Kid. Ragnarok, _quit it_!"

Kid welcomed Crona in, but didn't insist on helping him with Ragnarok. Crona is definitely not the only one who doesn't know how to deal with this.

"Did my father tell you we were here?", Kid asked.

Ragnarok got bored and retreated to Crona's spine. "Uh, y–yeah. He said you might need 'extra protection' or something. What's going on?"

"I'm finished," Stein called, "just don't crowd the room."

Stein had Kid at 'finished'. He had quickly bolted to Samantha's side with the others lined around the bed. She looked peaceful. There were barely any bandages on her and all her cuts were fading.

"Kid, how come she heals so fast?", Patty wondered, "Is she an alien?"

"No, Patty, she has heightened immunity because she's a weapon and meister in one. It doubles her strength, too."

"Ooooh", Patty said amusedly.

 _I don't get what's so fascinating about her_ , Liz thought furiously.

"I know her!" Crona had a crazy look of recognition, which was odd, considering before the academy, he had no friends.

This sparked Soul's interest. "How do you know Samantha?"

"Lady Medusa...", his voice went down to a whisper and he began fiddling with his fingers. "She was the last witch who tried to turn her into a kishin."

"Seriously?" Soul was bewildered. He remembered how strong Medusa was. Stein said that the witch was "bent out of shape" from how Samantha fought her. And Ursula was evil and cruel, but not nearly as smart or tactful as the snake woman. So Samantha could have defeated her at any time. Why didn't she?

Kid had knelt down next to Samantha and was holding her hand. He saw that she had her old power back, but he needed to know she was alright.

Spirit sat on the other side of the bed, supporting Kid by holding Samantha's other hand. He knew if she was in a symmetrical position that Kid would feel safer.

Stein sat at the end waiting for something to happen. All three of them stared intently at her face. They were more than ready to see Samantha happy. And the students watched in anticipation. Blackstar grew impatient. He stuck out a whole mission without being the center of attention. Now he wanted to see the true star. _I can't take it anymore!_

"SAMANTHA WAKE UP ALREADY!", Blackstar yelled. "IF YOU DON'T FIGHT ME I'M GONNA WRITE ON YOUR FACE WHILE Y–"

A slap in the face shut him up. Samantha looked furious until she realized where she was.

 _I'm home?_

 _ **Yeah, Stein carried you back**_ , said her sound mind. _**It wasn't a dream.**_

She turned to Kid, his golden eyes bright with joy. "Welcome home."

Samantha smiled at him. He leaned onto the bed and they hugged. "I missed you.", Kid whispered.

"I missed you more.", she whispered. When Samantha pulled away, they both stared at each other for what seemed like ages to them before Kid slowly closed his eyes and pressed his lips against hers. They had only kissed two other times, so the moment was just as real.

Their audience awwwed at their true reunion. "Jeez, I told you to wake up, not make out," said Blackstar. Maka's happy face didn't falter, but she picked up a book and hit him with it.

Samantha went from Kid right to Stein. "Daddy." She squeezed him tightly until he had to take a breath.

"Did you mean it," asked Spirit, "when you said I was your weapon?" He looked like a puppy who had just found its owner.

"Are you kidding? Of course I did, you're the best scythe I've ever fought with!" Samantha spoke as if she thought he knew that already. Spirit embraced a lot tighter than she did.

"I almost forgot!" He pulled a purple orb out of his pocket. "I didn't know what you wanted to do with the soul."

Samantha took it from Spirit and stood silently, thinking of something. She turned to the younger scythe in the room. "Soul."

He was startled by the fact that she knew his name. _Can you know someone's name through souls?_ , Soul wondered. "I think you should take it.", she said.

"Huh? Why?"

"I'm a death scythe, so I don't need any more souls. It would make me a little stronger, but you need your witch's soul. I don't. It's your decision, though."

Soul took his time in pondering over this. _I would be one step closer to being like her. But Maka_ , he turned to his meister. She didn't look like she was against it, but she didn't look for it either. _We should earn it together_ , Soul decided. "My meister and I should get a witch's soul ourselves. You deserve that one."

Samantha smiled, like Soul was an old friend. Like she knew what he would say.

"Okay," she replied simply. With that she lifted the soul to her mouth and ate it. Every student was freaked out by the trait they usually identified Soul Eater with.

Said Soul was having second thoughts about her similarities to him and Maka. No one else ate souls. No one but him. _But why would she look and act the same?_

A/N: Soooooo sorry this took so long. I'm tired, had a sitting job and massive headache. I'll be quicker tomorrow.

Bye-bye!:)


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: You guys are the best! I never thought so many people would like my story. All the reviews are appreciated. Big thanks to the newest follower, **ellebeangirl**. And thank you, **Tylerria Farr** , for the sorry for the delay! Don't kill me.

I don't own Soul Eater, that's Maka's job.

"Soul, not to be rude, but your entire theory is stupid." Maka was annoyed, to say the least, that her partner woke her up at three in the morning. Not to mention, he also happened to be saying what seemed like total nonsense.

Soul didn't looked tired at all, for someone who stayed up all night. His only anger was Maka's lack of tolerance for him. "I'm telling you, it makes complete sense!"

Maka sat a little higher as if preparing to run through the details again. "OK, so let get this straight," said Maka in sleepy monotone,"Because Sam looks like the two of us, knew you and how to wield you, and eats souls, you strongly believe that she is a hybrid of the two of us?"

Soul nodded vigorously. _She gets it!_

Maka simply sat and stared at him for a few seconds. She seemed like she was searching her weapon's soul for something. Soul's gaze remained the same. He was determined to be believed.

"Soul," Maka said more sincerely, "why do you want to prove that?"

It showed that he hadn't thought everything through. He glanced away in embarrassment.

Maka pressed on. "Even if you did find more to back this up, what good will that do? Sam and Kid are happy together, and she would never hurt him, or anyone else. So what will happen if you ask if she's an experiment?"

Soul understood, he didn't want to ruin everything. Samantha was just getting back into the swing of things. She didn't need this problem, of course if the problem even existed.

"I won't say anything," Soul said. "But you do believe me, right?"

"I'll believe it if I see it. Besides, you don't have power suit blood. And I would have sensed your wavelengths in her soul, too. That's two flaws to your theory."

Maka rose from the couch and walked back to her room. "'Night, Soul!"

Soul sank into his own bed and continued to think. He didn't know if he would get any sleep that night.

Samantha stood a few feet away from Blackstar. The past few days had been leading up to a duel between the two of them. Blackstar couldn't stand how much attention Sam was getting, so one day while the gang ate lunch, he loudly proclaimed his desire for battle. "Death Suit! I challenge you to take on the Mighty Blackstar! Do you accept?" Sam sat speechless beneath him for a few moments. Then she smiled with determination and said,"You bet! I need some action!"

The ninja and the power suit circled each other, trying to foresee any attacks the other may make. Neither meister was armed, making this a battle of souls and hand-to-hand.

Blackstar had stance befitting a ninja, one arm half-stretched out in front of him as a block, the other arm held up at his side with his hand clenched, and his legs were spread apart to keep him steady.

Samantha had her body molded into a boxing stance, and with her current clothing, she almost looked the part, too. She wore a black tank and shorts. Her hair was tied into a high ponytail, but her bangs still hung over her forehead. The only thing she never really wore were shoes, excluding her weapon form.

Both meisters had a sharp, predator's glint in their others watched in silence as they waited for the fight to commence.

A/N: Sorry it's so short, I started really late. I will get to your idea, **ftlover280** , I promise.

If someone can help me with the fight sequence next chapter, I'd be so happy. Thanks! Bye-bye!:)


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I would have done this before but, of course, I had homework to do. I just read over what's been done so far, and there were places I put pauses and they didn't come up. Arrrgh! Thanks again for reading and a big pat on the back to my best friend from school. Enjoy!

I don't own Soul Eater, if I did it would be more about _Soul_ instead of Maka. No offense to her, though.

Blackstar was the first to make a move. He swung for Samantha's head, but she ducked. Once lowered, Sam swept his legs out from under him. Blackstar landed hard on his back but quickly flipped into his stance again. In the moment it took to concentrate on his target, Samantha's foot had made contact with his face. Blood trickled out of his nose and he was partially blinded. Sam took advantage of this and instantly switched footing. She kicked Blackstar in his side, knocking him a few feet away.

Patty was giggling out of control. "Hahaha, it's super effective!"

Kid didn't know whether to cheer for his best friend or his girlfriend, but was smiling all the same. It reminded him of the times he and Sam would train together. _So long ago..._

As the two of them fought, Maka couldn't help but notice everything Soul pointed out. Sam really _did_ look like her, and her white hair resembled the scythe's. _Come to think of it_ , Maka thought, _mine and Soul's combined wavelengths opened the box. But I can't find either of our presences inside her. Is it because she's a death scythe, or am I not looking hard enough?_

She leaned forward slightly and closed her eyes. Sam's form came to her mind first — she was still beating Blackstar to a pulp — proceeded by the grey orb that was her soul. At first, it appeared to be a single existence. But Maka was no longer easily convinced.

Her perception delved deeper into Samantha's soul. The further she inspected, the more divided the soul became. The soul had two different wavelengths which looped around each other so fast that the average eye couldn't perceive it.

One wavelength thrummed with Sam's attacks. _Her body wavelength?_ The other sounded like a song in tempo with the body movements. _And her mind wavelength. Aren't they supposed to be one and the same? A sound soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body; it's like Samantha is the other way around._

"Come on!" Blackstar cried, cutting off Maka's thoughts. She looked to the ninja who was now covered in cuts and bruises.

Samantha, on the other hand, seemed almost untouched. Her face read confusion, despite the obvious fact that she won.

Blackstar was flustered with his loss and allowing himself to look so sad. "I don't understand. I've been training and fighting all my life, just like you! So why..." He fell to his knees and squeezed his eyes shut.

" _Why are you so much better than I am?!"_

Everyone was startled, because never before had Blackstar shown so much real frustration. They assumed he acted all high and mighty out of true belief. Now it looked more like a cover for his weakness.

They turned toward Samantha, whose emotions could no longer be identified. She started walking towards Blackstar and sat in his same position. "Look at me."

He lazily pulled up his head, but tensed when he saw the furious look in her eyes. Blackstar knew she meant business.

"Who ever told you that I was better than you?" Her voice was much darker than normal. "Do you think it's fun being me? A glorious prize, forever to be hunted down by witches? To have my _family_ be hunted down by witches?"

She sent healing wavelengths through Blackstar's body, erasing all his wounds. "If all you're thinking of is power, then maybe I'm 'better' than you are. But I would trade all of it to be like you."

Samantha stood up and was about to fly home when Blackstar grabbed her arm. He was about to speak when Sam quickly turned and glared at him ferociously. Blackstar was scared at the sight of her eyes again, far worse than last time. They weren't green anymore. _Red eyes. Just like Soul's._

Samantha noticed his fear and relaxed. Her eyes turned back to green. "Just leave me alone." She turned sharply on her heel and flew off.

Blackstar was the most confused of all the students. _What just happened?_

A/N:Tell me how I did. I will do more backstory and flashbacks in the new chapters. More to come, guys!

Bye-bye!:)


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I'm a major turd. I procrastinated my story for a whole two months. Really, really, really, really, really, really sorry. Onward now!

I don't own Soul Eater. It's physically impossible. Done.

After the fight, Soul came up to Maka. His face had _I told you so_ written all over it. She gave in and nodded. The pair began to descend the stairs from the academy and head home.

"There's definitely something strange about her soul," Maka stated. "But I couldn't go deep enough to see if we were in there."

"If not that, what do you mean by 'strange?'" His face changed from amused to puzzled.

"I mean two different wavelengths in one soul. One for the mind and one for the body. What's weirder is that Stein couldn't tell."

"So you can't take another look without seeming suspicious, right?" She nodded. "Then what do we do now? There's no way she would have told Kid, Stein, or your dad. The only other person would be —"

Soul stopped in the middle of the stairs. Maka turned to look at him. "What is it?"

A light bulb had shone bright in his head. "Didn't Crona say he knew Sam before everyone else?"

Maka began to nod when realization hit her. Crona knew Samantha's previous life more than anyone. _He saw it firsthand._

Without a second thought, Maka grabbed her weapon's hand and sped back up the stairs. Heading for Crona's room in the academy. _He must know._

O^O

Blackstar lay in his bed, wide awake. He was thinking hard about the fight. About what Sam had said and the weird change in eye color.

 _I would trade all of it to be like you._

He growled in confusion. _But why?_ Blackstar wondered. _Why trade the life of a death scythe for being normal? So much power, getting to fight witches, working alongside Lord Death; it all sounds so cool!_

He heard a knock at his door, cutting off his thoughts. Tsubaki stood in the doorframe holding a plate of onigiri for him.

"You never ate dinner," she said. Blackstar immediately sat up. Tsubaki set the plate at the foot of the bed. She began to walk out when Blackstar stopped her. "Can you help me with something?"

She paused and looked around. "But your room looks fine today."

"No, not that," he said tiredly. All this thinking made him exhausted.

Tsubaki smiled and sat next to him. Blackstar started feeling hesitant and couldn't make out the words. He's already made a fool of himself once — or rather, several times — and didn't want to be embarrassed in front of his weapon again. He took a deep breath and then spoke.

"Why would Sam want to give up such a cool life? I mean, I know I'm pretty great, but she gets the most dangerous jobs, amazing skills, everything any academy student could dream of! What's so bad about that?"

Tsubaki contemplated for a moment. "Has anyone ever told you that with great power comes great responsibility?"

"No. What does that mean?"

"Think of it this way: why is Lord Death in charge of the DWMA?"

Blackstar was pooped from his own thought-provoking questions and gave Tsubaki a look. She sighed and went on.

"It's because he is the founder, but he's also the most powerful meister here. Samantha takes these jobs because she's the only one who can. Not just for being a four-star meister, but for knowing most of the witches."

"I thought that would be fun."

"Danger isn't as cool as you think it is, Blackstar. She was imprisoned for three years just to keep Kid safe. Samantha put herself at risk to protect her family."

That's when everything clicked into place for Blackstar. _If she were ordinary like me,_ he thought, _she wouldn't have to fight all the time. All she wants is to be left alone._

Blackstar jumped off his bed and turned to his weapon. He smiled in knowing what to do.

"You know, you really are the best partner ever." And with that he ran out the door.

"What– Blackstar wait! Where are you going?!" Tsubaki yelled.

"I HAVE TO GO TO SAM AND APOLOGIZE!"

He began sprinting in the direction of Stein's house. Shortly after his blade popped into his hand.

"I'll be there for you," Tsubaki said.

OAO

A/N:Update tomorrow! Bye-bye! :)


	11. Chapter 11

A/N:This first scene is set in the past when Samantha was a kid, and it will happen in between scenes for a few chapters. I'll indicate where it happens. Thank you, **maggi123** and **Chi no ame17** , for favoriting and following my story! And **ftlover280** , here it is, just as promised.

I don't own Soul Eater, I can't even draw people well. So it's hard to make an entire fifty-one episode series worth of drawings.

OAO... _Six years previous_

"Come now, girlie! You're wasting my time."

The witch Agatha sat with her legs crossed on her chair. She looked just as high and mighty as she thought she was.

A few feet away stood the test subject, the little power suit. She had no name, but she'd made quite a spectacle in the witch community. How she came to be, Agatha didn't know.

All she knew was that little girl was extremely rebellious and refused to kill the beasts placed in front of her unless they were kishin. And she was a strong force to be dealt with, even for witches. Some of them had even been killed because they couldn't properly deal with her.

 _No matter,_ Agatha thought. _If she doesn't behave, I'll punish her until she does._

The power suit stood completely still, trying to keep the witch outside of her mind. Agatha had placed an opponent in front of her and expected it to be defeated.

OAO

Because she wasn't fully aware of her power, the witch placed a kitten in front of the particular cat had a large amount of magical power, but could be dealt with swiftly, nonetheless. It was about the size of a small purse and just as vibrant pink. Around its neck was a light blue collar with a license in the shape of a quarter note. It had eyes that were dark blue, now pierced with ferocity as she was prepared for battle.

The feline's gaze never left her target, yet their attention was nowhere near her. The little girl before her appeared to be daydreaming, or rather, planning. She knew the human was only six in their years, but she was still smarter and stronger than most. _What could be going on in a soul like hers?_

OAO... _Present day_

Crona sat in his room in his usual position of a pillow squeezed tightly against his chest. He gazed out the window with his back up against the wall. Ragnarok lay snoring on top of him, oddly peaceful for once.

The silence was disturbed by a knock on the door.

"Crona? Are you awake?" It was Maka's voice. _What is she doing here so late?_

Crona got up from his corner, tossed the pillow on the bed, and opened the door. Maka also had Soul with her.

Ragnarok was now awake and furious to see guests. "You better have good reason for ruining my beauty sleep!" he whined.

Maka looked apologetic. "Sorry, Ragnarok. Crona, could we ask you some questions about Samantha?"

"Um, sure. Come on in." Crona wasn't sure what was so important they needed to know now, but let them in, just the same. Crona sat back down on his bed while the pair sat on the floor.

Soul couldn't help but comment. "You really ought to get some chairs in here."

"Yeah, sorry," Crona replied. "What did you want to ask?"

Maka sat up straight and let the words flow. "How much do you know about Samantha?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Soul has this weird theory and we need your input to back it up. You see, we have reason to believe she has two souls in one, possibly ours."

Crona was bewildered at this. His eyes were wide. "That's why she was so mad at me when we met," he whispered.

"Huh?"

"Sam said that I hurt her Soul. I thought she meant her feelings, but she must have meant you! And when she told that weird cat that all she needed was her sound mind and body… And how she said there was a piano always playing in her head and—"

"Wait-wait-wait!" Soul interjected. "What are you talking about? You're saying we're inside her _with_ our memories? Like when we fought you?"

"I-I don't know, maybe."

Maka stood. "No, not maybe. Definitely." She began walking back and forth. "It makes sense now! Soul, you're the mind wavelength, and I'm the body wavelength! Somehow, the witches took our souls and fused them together to create Samantha!"

"But why us?" Soul wondered aloud. "What about our souls makes us qualified to create the ultimate fighter?"

"I don't know, but that doesn't matter now. We know that what you thought was true. Do we really have to go any further?"

"Maka, are you kidding?!" Soul shouted. "Now that we know it involves us, aren't you even more curious? Concerned, even?"

Maka tried to understand her weapon, but found no real reason to poke around for more.

"What else is there? You know, snooping about a four-star meister's business could get us in trouble or something."

Soul wasn't convinced. He put his palm to his forehead, fingers caught in his hair. Then he looked more determined toward her.

"Listen, Maka. I don't think I'll be able to rest until I figure out the whole truth. When we first met, she already knew my name and spoke to me like a friend. I need to know how far back this thing goes."

She thought she knew her partner better. Maka didn't realize this was bothering him so bad. She merely took it as a childish fantasy that he wanted to drag her into. But now, the full extent of the situation became evident.

 _What did the witches do and how did they do it?_ Maka wondered. _What goes on in her soul? Why_ is it _us that were chosen and fused together?_ Several more questions came to her. More that needed answers.

Maka nodded at Soul and turned back to Crona. "Are you coming with us?"

"Where?"

"We're going to see Samantha."

OAO... _hi._

Kid straightened the last portrait on his hallway. _Straight as a pin._ Normally, he would have congratulated himself for such a marvel. But, he was too distracted by recent events.

After the battle between Samantha and Blackstar, she'd left because an argument they had. _Serves him right._ Kid thought. _Sam's been through enough without that punk bothering her._

He walked down the hall closer to his room. By the doorframe, he hung the picture of the two of them back where it used to be.

Kid stared at it for the longest time, reaching far back in his memory for their first meeting. He never could have learned to fly without her help.

 _I couldn't have done a_ lot _of things without her._

Kid put his finger where Samantha's hand was in the picture. _I should be there for her…. like she was for me._

"Liz! Patty!"

A parade of footsteps greeted him. The Thompson sisters were in their pajamas, looking quite panicked by their meister.

Liz answered first. "You called us, something wrong?"

"I'm going out. Will you accompany me?"

"Depends, where?" Liz replied.

Patty was excited with the possibilities. "Can we get ice cream? Please, please, please?"

"No, Patty, we're going to Sam's house."

They both looked disappointed, each one for their own reason. "Then we're not going," they replied simultaneously and began to walk back to their room.

"Patty, I'll buy you candy if you and Liz come."

And not two minutes later, the reaper held a giggling pistol in one hand and an unconscious one in the other. Beelzebub was speeding towards the home of the mad scientist and her daughter.

OAO

A/N: How did I do? Do tell! See you tomorrow! Bye-bye!:)


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Sorry for the late update. I know the last chapter was weird. I just couldn't find a way to perfectly segway everything. Oh, well. Thanks, **Qbean 3** , for following my story! I hope that this next chapter will be better than the last one.

I don't own Soul Eater. That's why Samantha isn't canon. Duh.

OAO… _Present day_

Soul, Maka, and Crona were running towards Stein's house were Samantha lived. They had their eyes set on finding out more about her. However, no one anticipated a certain blue-haired ninja appearing next to them.

"Blackstar?!" Soul said. "What're you doing here?"

"Me? What about you guys?"

That party of three proceeded to a halt, followed by the other weapon pair.

Blackstar wasn't entirely ready to tell his friends that he finally swallowed his pride and was going to apologize. It was bad enough to admit that he did something wrong. But knowing Tsubaki was next to him gave him courage to do so.

He sucked in a breath and tried to explain quickly as not to feel embarrassed.

"Iwaswrongtosaywhatisaidandineedtotellherimsorry!"

His friends were awestruck at his breakthrough. _How many times is Blackstar not gonna be himself this week?_ Soul thought. "I gotta say I'm really impressed."

"Nevermind about me," said Blackstar. Red began creeping up around his face. "What did you guys come for?"

The scythe and his partner looked at each other. Maka nodded and Soul did the same.

"We think— well, we _believe_ — that Samantha might be a fusion of the two of our souls," said Maka.

Blackstar went wide-eyed. "Her creepy death-stare…" he whispered.

"What?"

"After I grabbed her arm, she turned to look at me. Sam's eyes were red. Really red. Just like Soul's."

"We were headed to her house to ask her about it."

"Well now I'm curious! All the more reason to get going!" Blackstar broke back out into a sprint, his friends tagging behind him.

OAO… _Then_

The five students reached Sam's house. They decided they would come in through her window so they wouldn't disturb Stein. Her room was near the back of the house.

Peering into the window, Blackstar saw Samantha sitting on her bed. She almost appeared to be meditating. He started banging on the glass. "Hey, Sam! It's us!" No response.

"She can't hear me." He didn't wait for another suggestion and tried to open the window. It lifted up with ease.

The others didn't acknowledge that they were technically breaking and entering. The simply went onward and stopped in front of Samantha.

"Maybe she fell asleep in that position?" Blackstar figured. He started tapping her shoulder. "Sam?" More silence.

Maka walked toward her and inspected her soul. Once she reached back far enough, she found something. She turned back to her partner.

"Sam is in the deepest part of her soul, accompanied by the two wavelengths," she said. "It's like she's in the blood room inside you."

Soul thought back to the madness he had trapped inside of him. It walked around in the form of a little demon and would bring him into a dark room. He tried to persuade Soul into doing things way, tempting him with the promise of power. As terrible a being the demon was, the gothic style of the room was befitting of Soul's style.

He wondered if he could wake Samantha the same way he and Maka opened her box. He began to stretch his arm towards hers. His partner noticed and did the same. At their contact, a flash of light washed through the room.

When the light vanished, the pair was unconscious on each side of Sam. They were inside.

OAO… _oh, dang_

Maka came to on the tiled floor of the blood room. _How did I end up here?_ She remembered that Soul came with her.

"Sou–" His hand came up over her mouth. "This isn't my soul we're inside," he said. Maka looked puzzled. Soul moved his hand and pointed past her. She looked out of the curtain they hid behind. What Maka saw behind her made her jaw drop.

Another Soul Eater sat in front of his piano, wearing his traditional suit. He was playing a lullaby, his body drawn into the melody. In the corner of the room was a queen-size bed, where another Maka Albarn lay. And across from Soul's piano, the white-haired girl sat in a velvet chair. _Samantha._

 _This entire thing has me spooked_ , she said. _With every person I meet, the lower the chances of their survival become. How am I supposed to protect all of them?_

The concern and frustration in her voice was unnerving. Maka wondered what sort of threat they needed protection from.

 _ **You don't need to worry about them**_ , said her Soul. _**They're strong enough together.**_

 _Says the one who always taunted me with your memory_ , Sam spat. _Ever since you drilled that image into me, I've been too scared not to live by it. And you saw how they fared against Ursula. Kid could have died_ again _because of my incompetence!_

… _**I'm sorry, Sam. But I know that they'll—**_

The room went quiet except for the piano playing in the background. _What is it?_

 _ **Someone is in here.**_

Maka tensed up when she heard a chair scuff the tile and footsteps approach. Samantha pulled back the curtain. Her eyes were wide with fear.

In the same amount of time it took for them to enter, Soul and Maka vanished from the blood room and woke up again on Sam's bed.

They shot up to stand again. Sam had her head hung and her hands trembling.

"I'm sorry, we didn't mean to!" Maka said hurriedly. "We just wanted to ask you about this and–"

"You're going to go tell Kid, aren't you?" Sam mumbled. "You're going to show him what I am."

"What? Nonono! Of course not!" She was about to go on when Soul tapped her.

Maka turned to look at him but saw Death the Kid standing in the doorway. She felt the biggest wave of guilt wash over her.

"Kid…"

Sam heard and slowly lifted her head and looked in his direction. The two of them stared at each other for a long time. Kid looked at Sam with shock and she returned with a heartbroken stare.

Before Kid could say a word, Sam flew out the window at breakneck speed.

"Sam, wait! Come back!" Kid shouted. He leaped out the window and searched the sky for her. The power suit was nowhere to be found.

" _Sam!"_

OAO… _shoot_

A/N: The next chapter is already in progress. I hope everyone is having a good holiday. See you soon!


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: One more day til Christmas! Yay! Thanks for reading, everyone!

I don't own Soul Eater. Soul Eater owns Soul Eater. I can't own people. Slavery is illegal here.

OAO… _get on with it_

Kid came back into the house through the window. When he sat on the bed, all went quiet. The weapons and meisters were in deep shock from what they'd seen and heard.

Soul broke the silence. "What happened while we were in there?"

"Kid saw you two passed out and asked what was going on," Blackstar said. "Then Crona snitched on us."

Every head turned to the pink-haired boy. He was sniffling back tears. "I'm sorry. I wasn't sure if was supposed to tell him or not. I don't know how to deal with keeping secrets."

"But why didn't _she_ tell me?" Kid sounded offended. He didn't want to find out this way. "Why?"

The silence returned, but was quickly interrupted when an angry scientist walked in.

"What are you children doing here?" Stein asked. "And where is my daughter?"

"We don't know, sir," Maka replied.

Stein looked around at his students. His face showed realization. He went back to his angry glare shortly afterward.

"You found out, didn't you? About her soul?"

Everyone's eyes widened and they looked at each other. "How did you know?" Soul said.

"Do you take me as some sort of fool?"

Stein reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a cigarette. Lighting it, he took a long breath and shot out a cloud of smoke.

"I'm a master of soul perception. And Sam has lived in this house for five years. I think you know a little hiccup like that would have gotten to my attention eventually."

Maka felt like chopping herself for not thinking about that sooner. And even more so for keeping this mess going.

"Samantha never told me anything and I never asked. All I know is that she has an odd soul." He paused. "But fortunately for you, I have a possible idea of where she went. Maybe on the way you can explain it to me."

Kid practically sprang off the bed. "You know where she is?"

"If memory serves me right, she will have gone to an abandoned witch's lab. More specifically, her birthplace."

Maka interjected. "How do you know she was born there?"

"I figured from the one time she ran away from home, that place had to be where she was born."

"So Sam wasn't captured by witches after all," Kid mumbled.

"I'm calling Spirit," Stein said. "This concerns him, too. Then we leave."

And the students began to prepare to leave.

OAO… _Then_

"We're here!" Stein and Spirit stopped near the edge of a crumbling bridge. The students trailed behind them.

Blackstar peered under the ruins. He only saw the dried up remains of the river that the bridge used to run over. _How am I supposed to be a great meister if I can't see better than the average human?_

He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. The scenery around him slowly faded away. All that was left were the bright blue orbs that made up his friends. Then he searched below him, seeing another familiar soul deep underground.

"I got it!" Blackstar shouted. He leaped onto the dry riverbed.

"What are you doing, Blackstar?" Maka asked.

"There's gotta be a switch or something! I can feel Sam's soul down there!"

Soul was having an odd day. First, Blackstar admits he was wrong. Now, he can sense souls.

Blackstar found a hole in the rock face. Reaching inside, he felt around for anything unnatural. There was a smooth, round, steely object inside. _A button?_ Blackstar pressed it down and the ground opened up. Out of the rock sprang an elevator covered in dust.

All of Blackstar's friends cheered him on. "Way to go, Blackstar!"

"Let's get going!" The team crammed together in the elevator and descended below the earth.

OAO… _yay, Blackstar_

The elevator doors opened to reveal a mess. The lab looked like a tornado swept through it. A sickly green light barely lit the room. Broken glass covered almost every inch of the floor. Toppled chairs and medical tools were strewn about.

Crona was creeped out beyond belief. The mere thought of witches gave him a scare. And now he was in their abandoned lab. It made him fidget with anxiety.

The party slowly walked through the debris. They saw more remnants of the past. Carts, broken pods, and computer monitors. Racks of witches' brooms and several of their signature hats. All of it spread around and unorderly. It made Kid want to puke.

Maka stopped short. She looked to her left and ran to a door. "She's in here."

Kid finally took his mind off the damage and looked to the task at hand. He went to the door and tried the knob. It wouldn't budge.

"Move out of the way," Blackstar said. He obeyed. The ninja went into his stance. " _Blackstar big wave!_ " And he destroyed the wall with his soul wavelength.

"Was that really necessary?" Kid brought his palm to his forehead.

"Nevermind that, there she is!" Blackstar pointed to a glass capsule. It was still dripping wet from its last experiment. Standing as the lone object that was almost completely intact, save for a computer nearby, the capsule held the person they were looking for.

Samantha was holding her knees to her chest. Her face was hidden in her arms.

"Sam!" Kid shouted. He started running towards her. Before he could reach her, Sam formed a wall with her soul.

"Sam, please let me in!" She didn't move. "Can't you at least tell me what's going on?" More silence.

Kid shook where he stood. He felt like crying. "We worked so hard to bring you back. And now you want to leave me again?" He flopped onto the ground and quietly broke down.

Sam's defenses fell and she jumped out of the capsule. Her face was still hidden from the light. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides. She sighed and Kid looked up at her.

"Before I was bo– came into being, a witch that could tell the future foretold who would become the strongest weapon and meister pair in the academy." She looked to Soul and Maka.

"With that information, she and her fellow witches came together to form a kishin. They replicated Soul's soul, Maka's soul, and the DNA of a power suit, and fused it together to make me."

Samantha walked toward the computer and switched it on. The screen showed the video feed from the last day. It showed the room they were in, now untouched. A group of witches crowded around the capsule. Sam was inside, floating in the water in a fetal position wearing nothing but a breathing mask. She looked to be just a toddler.

All was peaceful in the lab until Samantha opened her eyes. The witches fell back in fear. In a split second, she broke through the glass and began attacking everything. Witches were dying left and right. The damage spread everywhere. Just before the video blinked out, one of the survivors managed to knock her out.

"... I'm not real," Samantha sobbed. " _I'm not a real person_."

"That's why you left?" Kid said incredulously. "Because your soul isn't made naturally?" She shook her head.

"Because you wanted to protect me from the truth?" She repeated her response.

"Then wh—"

"I thought you would leave me because my soul is asymmetrical!" Sam motioned at her torso. "See? Soul on the left, Maka on the right. And… maybe a little bit of those other things, too. I had plenty of reasons to be afraid to tell you.

She paced back and forth."There's stuff I don't know, like how long I'll live and what more I could do to hurt you. And how many more of this stupid group of witches is left.

"And Soul, every day I worried about what he told me. About that awful memory of the sacrifice he made for Maka. Those words pounding in my head. 'I am your weapon partner, Maka. That means I am always prepared to die for my meister.'

"... You see now? I literally can't stop worrying about you. Or anyone else, for that matter. And leaving is all I know how to do."

The room went quiet once more. Kid walked over to Sam and put his hands on her shoulders. "Look at me." She obeyed.

"When I met you, I didn't have the best soul perception," he said. "And I still don't. But I never cared for how the body looked. No one alive is perfectly symmetrical. No one has ever lived a life without danger, either. I love you, Samantha Stein, and there's no danger in the world big enough to change that."

Samantha was never happier. Even with tears leaking from her eyes, a smile managed to make its way on her face. The grim reaper and the girl embraced for the longest time. She let his lips meet hers again.

Kid felt a tap on his shoulder. Blackstar stood behind him. He backed away and gave them their space. The ninja scratched his head in embarrassment.

"Sam," he began. "I was… um… I was off when I said that before. I was thinking selfishly and didn't put myself in your shoes." Blackstar looked back at Tsubaki. She was smiling. "With great power comes great responsibility. I don't think I can be your kind of powerful. I'm sorry."

"You're a lot better than you give yourself credit for, Blackstar." Sam pulled him into a hug. "I couldn't have gotten this weight off my chest if you hadn't broken down the door."

"Aww, well… Technically, I broke down the whole wall."

She released him and walked back to Kid. They held hands on the way back home.

OAO… _aww_

A/N: I hope you enjoyed. The next chapter is all flashback. Merry Christmas Eve!


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Merry Christmas, dear friends! My present to you: the next chapter! Onward we go!

I don't own Soul Eater… I got nothin'– CHRISTMAS!

OAO… _Six years previous_

 _What do I do? I can't be held by these witches any longer._

The young power suit sat quietly in the cell Agatha had prepared for her. From the outside, she appeared to be sleeping, slumped against the brick wall. Deep within her soul, however, she conversed with her conscience.

Ironically enough, his name was Soul. He wore a black blazer with vertical white stripes and matching dress pants. Underneath was a red button-up shirt and a black silk tie. The two of them bore the same white hair, and the girl's eyes matched the other entity within her: an older girl with beige hair and pigtails, wearing a black dress. Maka.

The three were in a black room draped with red curtains and matching furniture. Soul sat at a grand piano, slick with black glossy paint. It was there he existed, unable to move from his bench. Unable to stop playing. He alone controlled the wavelengths of the little girl's mind. The room was filled with a lullaby that he played whenever she fully entered; she could only do so when she was asleep.

Maka matched the suit's outside actions. When she moved, Maka moved. And now, she slept in a bed far off in the corner of the room.

The white-haired girl sat across from Soul, watching expectantly. Being as he was her mind, Soul was always the one she looked to for help.

 _ **I think that you're strong enough, now,**_ he said. _**You can escape tomorrow if you believe you are ready.**_ Not once while he spoke did he look away from the piano.

 _There's no way that this witch will let me go so easily._ Agatha needed this opportunity, as the girl overheard. She would do anything to be seen high in the eyes of the Grand Witch.

 _ **Exactly. So when the time is right, you'll have to do away with her.**_

 _I figured that. But what am I going to do after I leave?_ _I certainly can't live as a normal kid._

 _ **Why do you say that?**_

 _People will think I'm weird. And I'd only get them in trouble._

The two went silent for a while. There was no telling what would happen if a human interacted with the suit. Soul sighed.

 _ **I'm sure we'll think of something.**_

Soul's song changed from its sleepy tune to Edvard Grieg's _Morning Mood_. She was waking up.

 _ **You should probably get going. Don't worry, I'll figure something out.**_

The girl nodded and slowly disappeared from the room. She woke up to the smell of Agatha's sad excuse for a breakfast.

OAO… _Then_

The power suit stood across from the pink kitten that Agatha put her up against. Said witch sat on the other side of the room.

Maka was fully aware of the plan to finish her off. She slowly fed the girl instructions. _**Walk towards the cat like you are about to attack it**_ , she said. _**Agatha isn't bright enough to know what you're planning.**_

The body followed along as she commanded. The closer she moved, the more tense the cat became. As much as its body showed anticipation, the pink fluffball also trembled with fear.

 _ **Charge up your Symphony Cannon.**_ The power suit pointed her hand at the kitten. A ball of light grew inside her palm. The cat began to charge her own attack as well.

 _Now?_

 _ **Now.**_

She disappeared from her place and reappeared behind Agatha. And then she blew the witch away. A smoke cloud formed around them. It quickly receded from the light of a purple orb.

 _ **Let's go**_ , said the mind and body simultaneously. _Right._

She began to walk away when she felt something soft rub against her leg. _Don't tell me._ Turning back, she saw that the kitten was right next to her.

"Shoo, kitty," the child said. The cat stayed put. "I know that you can understand me. I've met dozens like you. Now hit the road." No movement.

 _It's going to keep following me, isn't it?_

The suit sighed and picked the feline up off the ground. With it resting on her shoulder, she concentrated her wavelengths into her feet. Rockets of blue fire shot out and she flew up and out of the lair.

OAO… _Then_

Once they were far enough from the witch's home, the girl and her newfound pet made a rest stop. They were flying over a foggy forest when she landed. The tree branches were shaped like arrows and the fog shrouded their trunks. The roots stretched all over the ground, threatening to trip over the people who walked blindly by.

"We should be safe here," the power suit concluded.

She set the cat down and started looking for sticks to make a fire. After she found a sufficient amount, she commanded her soul to light them up. "Soul Symphony!" The small burst of a sonnet gave birth to heat.

A fire sparked up from the pile of wood. Finally resigning, the child flopped onto the ground and let out a long sigh. "'Bout time."

"Why didn't you kill me?"

She startledly stared at the kitten. _A talking cat?_ "I'm sorry, what?"

"The witch told you to destroy me. Why didn't you?"

The surprise dissipated and she went on. "I'm not going to kill what's not evil," she said. "It's against my principles."

"But weren't you raised to do that?"

"From the day I was born, I knew that I could never hurt people or animals and take their souls. My sound mind told me that. He and my sound mind taught me right from wrong."

"Your who and what did huh?" She tilted her head the way a confused dog would. "For a little girl, you sure talk big."

"Well, considering that a cat learned how to speak, I figured you'd have a bigger vocabulary."

"I'm only two years old. In human time, I mean."

"Oh."

They went silent for a while. The cat stared into the fire while the girl laid back and looked up the stars. She still had no idea where to go from here. There was no person she knew to come to when she needed it. And Soul's memories were almost completely overtaken by her own. All he could remember was his time with Maka, which he said was mandatory for him to keep.

"Do you know where we should go?" She said, sitting back up to see the cat.

"Not sure… Um, can you read?"

"Why?"

"I have a tag on my collar," the cat explained. "I think my name is on it. Can you see it?"

She walked to the suit and sat in her lap. _Oh, gosh_ , she thought. _Soul? Do you know how to read?_

 _ **Kinda**_ , he answered. The song he played was slow and steady, but its rhythm was complex. Taking their time, they sounded out the words together.

"Julianna… Song. That's a pretty name."

"Thank y—" Julianna flicked her head towards something out in the fog. She let out a low growl.

The suit felt a strong soul close by. She sprang into her stance. "Show yourself!"

The presence came closer, revealing a small boy with pink hair carrying a sword. "Sorry to have to do this, girl," he said. "But Lady Medusa will punish me if I don't capture you."

OAO… _shoot_

A/N: If you would like to send me a present, just write a review. Lots of boxes filled with words is all I need. Bye-bye!


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it took so long. I'm trying not to be on hiatus all the time. With my new semester I should be able to get more out. Thanks to** ** **NutButterProductions**** **and** ** **Food606**** **for following my story. And if any of you like comics or Assassin's Creed, please check out my friend,** ** **Ultimate Archangel**** **.**

 **I don't own Soul Eater. That'd be nice, though.**

 **OAO…** ** _yeah, that would be nice_**

 ** _This kid thinks he can take my soul?_**

 **The boy standing in front of the power suit - or, maybe it was a girl - hardly looked strong enough to do her any damage. He was scrawny, his noodle arm practically dragging his sword along the ground. There was an aura of fear radiating off his deceivingly powerful soul; the white-haired girl saw it in his shifty eyes and shaking form.**

 **Everything about him screamed inexperience, and yet his soul appeared like that of a kishin egg. It was obvious he'd eaten at least a handful of human souls, not enough to turn him. Even so, whatever average soul he had before was now corrupt by madness.**

 **"** **Julianna," the girl said. "I want you to stay behind me."**

 **"** **What? But I wanna fight with you! I can help-" She was cut off by the girl's deadly glare. It frightened her enough to send her dashing up into the nearest tree.**

 ** _Soul, what the heck? I could have used her!_**

 ** _ **I know who this person is, just trust me.**_**

 ** _As if I would do otherwise._**

 **She raised her hands above her head, crossing her wrists. In the blink of an eye, she transformed into a weapon. "Whoever you are, I won't allow you to steal any more souls. Prepare to die!"**

 **She saw him flinch, only to instantly regain his composure, in a madman's-calm-before-the-storm sort of way. The boy raised his sword, uttering his command under his breath. "Ragnarok," he whispered. "Scream Resonance."**

 ** _ **Cover your ears!**_** **The mind and body both shouted. She responded hastily. Even without the sound, she could feel how loud the sword shrieked. The vibrations were all around her, shaking the very forest.**

 **Suddenly, the girl felt a large pain in her chest. She looked up and saw that the demonic sword was still howling away. Why did it feel like she had been sliced open by the sword? She couldn't take it anymore and charged at the wielder.**

 **"** **Cut that out!" She jabbed at his shoulder, but there was no reaction. Despite the fact she clearly went in, she didn't see any blood. Because he hardened it himself.**

 **"** **I'm afraid that won't work. Sorry." The boy saw his advantage and tried to stab her in the back. She quickly moved out of the way. Light grew in her hands as she charged her Symphony Cannon.** ** _Now that I know physical attacks won't work, I'll have to try my soul wavelength._**

 **The song Soul played now always came when she was in battle. Even though he didn't remember much of his own life, he said that this song saved their lives and gave Maka incredible strength. And she believed that same strength flowed through her.**

 ** _ **Fire now!**_** **She blasted at him with enough power to take down a man twice his size. He simply blocked it with his accursed blade.** ** _Soul, I don't understand! What's his wea-_**

 **The same slicing feeling flared up, this time making her cringe.**

 **"** **How can you do this to me if you aren't moving?!"**

 **"** **I'm not doing anything!" He said it like she was accusing him of poking her just as a parent walks in.**

 **She knew the kid wasn't really behind what was happening. It was obviously Maka reacting to seeing the demon sword again. Soul said he knew him, so the battle they fought together must have been traumatic to be affecting her now. Still, she wished Maka would ease up, because the trauma was spreading. Her vision was replaced with the images of their days, their lives flashing before** ** _her_** **eyes.**

 **The spasming images were messing with her head and she felt faint.** ** _Not now! Not now! I just escaped, I can't go back! Maka, please stop!_**

 **She couldn't let this happen when freedom was just in her grasp, but Maka was nowhere close to stopping. Her fear was relentless, the dread shook her body. There was no letting up. And Soul felt it, too. The unclear memories the girl saw were proof enough. Any second now everything would go black, that she knew for sure. But if she was going to go back, she didn't want to be dragged along by this pathetic boy.**

 **The power suit gathered all she had into one hand, a sword forging from her wavelength. Like any soul it had a blue glow about it, and from the hilt to the blade with its long hook at the end, it was designed to look like a large eighth note.**

 **She came at the demon swordsman once more, this time teleporting behind him. He was ready, blocking her sword. But she anticipated that. "I like your fancy scream sword," she said. "Very original. You should try mine, though, it's really cool. Wanna see?"**

 **"** **Oh, um… no thanks."**

 **"** **No, really, it's the best! Here, I'll show you." Suddenly her channeled wavelength heated up until it grew white-hot. The sword wailed out in pain as the metal sizzled. Dropping his guard, the boy didn't even see the Soul Sword cut through his tunic, slashing his chest.**

 **With a display of exhaustion, the power suit fell to her knees and the sword vanished.**

 **"** **See? Wasn't that great?"**

 **Falling flat on her face, she heard the bickering of the weapon and meister pair as she drifted into darkness.**

 **"** **Crona, you idiot! How could you let her get me like that?! You can't even win against a girl, you little wuss! When Medusa finds out I'm gonna pound on you some more! Just wait till she hears…"**

 **OAO…** ** _here we go again_**

 **** **I'm sorry if it's too short, but I'll be working even more tomorrow. See you soon!**


	16. Chapter 16

You guys are the best. I didn't realize that there were ten of you until I reached twelve. A huge milestone has been reached that I couldn't have come to without all of you. Thanks to everyone who has followed me thus far. Enjoy the next chapter!

I don't own Soul Eater because Americans don't make anime. We make fanfiction.

OAO... _so true_

 _As the sounds of the conflicting duo faded away, the memories of her soul became clear. She was standing and watching the battle take place. The demon swordsman, Crona she knew now, was a teenager and his madness was stronger. Across from him was Maka, holding Soul as scythe in her hands._

 _She was watching them from the very moment realization hit the meister. Maka couldn't cut through him, Soul's blade blocked by the demon swordsman's arm. Tiny droplets of black splattered on the floor from Crona's side. "Black...Black blood?!" Maka said._

 _Crona inched toward her. "Yes, that's right, my blood is black."_

 _Maka backed away from him, terrified. She made clear what the girl had theorized before, that his blood hardened when she reached his blood vessels. The battle went on, the two swinging at each other. Crona struck from above, Maka guarded. The scythe and the sword were caught together._

 _And then it happened._

 _Ragnarok let out that same terrible screech, vibrating against Soul's handle, ripping along his shoulder in his human form. He let out a terrible cry._

" _Soul!" Maka screamed. "Stop that!" She kicked Crona off of him. Though he was still in weapon form, his blood dripped from the hilt._

" _Soul, are you okay?"_

" _Nevermind me, it doesn't matter!" Soul said. "I am your weapon partner, Maka! That means I am always prepared to die for my meister!"_

" _But-"_

 _Crona wasn't waiting for them to finish. He kept on charging forward, berating them with attacks. Maka constantly dodged, refusing to guard._

" _What are you doing?" Soul yelled. "Quit dodging and start fighting back!"_

 _Maka couldn't hurt Crona with her attacks, and she wouldn't guard at the risk of hurting Soul. So she thought that the best option was to run away. Desperately she banged against the door, begging it to open._

" _You should really listen when people speak to you," Crona said. "The doors here only open one way: they open inward." Crona closed in on them, no way out. And Maka wasn't moving._

 _ **Maka, do something!**_

" _Maka, guard now!"_

" _But, Soul, if I guard you'll die!"_

 _The power suit watched it all, as Soul transformed into a human. As he defended Maka with his body. As Crona sliced him with his sword. As Soul went down. And as Maka screamed his name._

 _ **Stop it! I don't want to watch this anymore! Soul, make it stop!**_

And it stopped. She woke up in a pitch-black room, unbound. Her chest didn't hurt anymore, but she had a mild headache. _Must be from the memory_ , she figured. Standing up, she lit her palm with a small flame and looked at her surroundings.

The walls were purple with gold patterns on the top and bottom. Yellow lines intertwined like DNA strands. There were no windows, no other way out except the lone door behind her.

 _I've had enough of this._

Giving into Crona was the worst feeling of all. And there was no way she was going back to witches now. Especially not if _he_ was here.

She barely paid mind to stealth, she was so furious. She melted the door hinges, kicked it down, and flew through the halls toward an exit, not caring who saw.

"Let them see me, I dare them to fight!" The power suit was ready for anything they threw at her. Even Maka's strife couldn't stop her now. Only when she saw her companion did she slow.

"Julianna, what are you doing? It's dangerous in here!"

"Too bad for me, then!"

"I'm serious! You saw him, Crona is too much for you to take!"

"You saved me, now I have to help you. That's how friends work."

At this, the girl had to smile. She never thought she'd make a friend. So much for being weird. "You know, for a two-year-old, you are way too insightful."

"Huh?"

"Nevermind. Gosh, this place is big. Do you know how far the exit is?"

"No… But I bet she knows."

At the very end of the corridor, the witch finally made her appearance. The girl had heard of the Snake Woman many times before. Revered in the witch community, Medusa was known as a mastermind and criminally powerful being.

She wore a black, sleeveless, hooded dress with an arrow-like tail which lifted her off the ground. Snake eyes were stitched into the hood and her blonde braid peeked out like a tongue, two strands on each side of her head made fangs. Her most unnerving feature was the similar soul she shared with Crona.

That meant he was _related_ to her. He was probably Medusa's own son. And she forced black blood into his system. She was turning her child into a kishin, leaving him with a bully like Ragnarok to live inside. How could she use her own son as a guinea pig? There was no time to speculate anymore when Medusa began to whisper incantations and summon her vector arrows.

"You know, it's very rude of you to try and escape after you damaged my test subject." The witch said, grinning maniacally. "I'm afraid I'll have to punish you now."

 _I'm not stopping!_ "Out of the way!" She whizzed over Medusa's head and broke down the door. Julianna was scampering along behind her, giggling.

Though the suit had no idea where she was, Maka had to be guiding her somewhere. It still looked like the forest they entered hours ago. The direction they were heading started to have thinner fog and lesser trees with each mile.

"I think I know where we are," Julianna shouted. "The witch won't dare go this way! A little farther and I think we should make it!"

The suit needed this freedom. She was longing for it. It didn't matter who was at the destination, she'd do whatever it took. Sick of witches and prison, she smiled like the kid she was supposed to be. She found herself giggling at the thought of what life would bring.

They stopped abruptly when Julianna cried out. The suit turned to see her trapped in Medusa's grip.

"Let her go!" She shot at her hand, allowing the kitten to flee to her friend's side. Once she was safe, the suit just kept shooting. She was so _frustrated_ , just barraging the woman with her wavelength to blow off her steam.

"You. You're _vile_. Cruel, disgusting, disturbed, an incomparably despicable being! And you made your own child hurt my Soul!" With each attack she screamed louder. "I've had enough of you all!"

She stopped and Medusa lay behind a cloud of smoke, injured and moaning curses under her breath. The witch quickly tried to regain stance, but was cut off a sound wave.

Its source was Julianna, who was no longer a cat. She stood now as a little human girl. Her dark, brown hair was held up by a sloppy ponytail and clipped bangs hooded her eyes. Pink cat ears sprouted out from under her locks. She wore a blue dress with short sleeves and brown boots. And despite her age and appearance, Julianna still came off as ferocious.

She turned to the suit. "Keep going, girl! I'll catch up to you!"

She had no doubt she wouldn't and kept going. Speeding so fast that not even the fastest missile couldn't catch up, adrenaline was pumping through her nonstop.

Where she finally arrived was a marvel of creepiness. The building created a large clearing in the woods, perfectly positioned for a haunted house. It appeared to have sutures running along the walls and the rooms popped out at weird angles.

One soul sat in the house. It appeared to be dormant in sleep, but had an overwhelming madness about it. Enough to be harder to battle than Medusa.

 _Soul, what do I do?_

 _ **Just hurry over there, she's gaining on you!**_

The suit felt a stab in her arm. _Gained_. She didn't bother to look back at Medusa, running through the patchworked front gates and leaning on the only tree on the lawn.

Finally turning around, saw how the witch glared angrily in defeat. Medusa then fled the site, never to return.

OAO... _Present day._

Soul was standing on the balcony of the apartment, staring off at the stars. Recent events had him thinking way too much and way too deeply.

He thought he would be happy since discovering how bright his future was. Maka and he were going to be the best of all of them. But something else had him upset.

"You hadn't come in for dinner yet, Soul," said his meister, right on cue. "Something wrong?"

He was hesitant, then came out. "How worried were you when we first fought Crona? When you thought I would die?"

That caught Maka off guard, who proceeded to recollect.

"It was the worst day of my life. I was more scared than with the kishin battle. I thought…" She paused, hating the memory with a passion. "I was so scared you would be gone forever."

Maka rose her hand and clenched her fist. "But I became stronger because of it, too. I got over it and now we're better than ever. That's why it happened."

"But was it really all that good?" Maka turned to see Soul looking her dead in the eye. "I traumatized you. Both of you. What's so good about that, huh Maka? I practically bullied you two into being good fighters. What good has really come from that other than power?

"Samantha is unable to think for herself and you and I are no closer graduating or defeating evil better than anyone else. I'm holding you both back with my weakness. My _stupidity_!" He pounded a heavy fist down on the railing and laid his forehead there.

He whispered with a sad voice. "Letting Crona get me, getting injured, failing tests, calling you an idiot, letting my madness spread inside you. All of it isn't worth having me as your partner, Maka. _I'm_ unworthy."

"Stop that right now, Soul Evans!" Maka shouted at him with his real name. "You are too worth the trouble you cause! How else would we balance out in wavelengths? Two perfect kids don't mix at all." He looked up at the meister in bewilderment.

"And why on earth would _you_ be the unworthy one? You're braver and cooler than me. Sometimes I feel so lucky to have you, I believe it's a dream!" Maka took him by the collar, their faces inches apart. "You're the most amazing person to me, Soul! And you know what?"

Before he could even think to respond, Maka tugged him closer and kissed him. They stood in that position for what seemed like years. Soul couldn't care about the future now. Because he and Maka were finally making history of their own.

When she pulled away, Maka whispered one sweet nothing into his ear. "You complete me, Soul."

His face flushed. He couldn't say anything with trembling lips. So he pulled her back in, another kiss of eternity. Soul Eater Evans never did eat dinner that night.

OAO…

I can feel the fangirls screaming, it's like an earthquake. I'll update very soon!

Bye!


	17. Chapter 17

Hello, good readers! You ready? I am! Thank you for the sweet reviews and support. Also I think the timelines got mixed up. I was thinking age six so I said six years previous, but Sam's sixteen in the present so it would be ten years. Allow me to facepalm myself and express my apologies. Very sorry, you guys. I hope it's not too confusing. With no more further adue, Chapter 17!

I don't own Soul Eater. It takes too much thought to make an entire fandom. People would yell at me saying I'd take too long.

OAO… _**Ten**_ _years previous._

The suit crouched exhaustedly against the tree, now putting pressure on her wound. Her extra immunity was finally starting to kick in and the cut became smaller. But she couldn't care less about her injury. Or the madman just inside the building.

She was _free_. Really free. If her legs didn't ache so bad, she'd jump for joy. If she weren't breathing so hard, she'd laugh until she cried. All the suit could manage in her state was to smile with glee.

The only question was what to do with her freedom. From Agatha's lair to the woods, the woods to Medusa, Medusa to here. There was no time to come up with a plan. And Soul was just as drained as she was at the moment.

She was stuck.

A creak came from the front door of the house. The soul had moved and the suit hadn't noticed.

 _Oh no, I must have woken him up! I can't fight this way!_

 _ **Don't freak out.**_ Soul assured her. _**We don't know if they want to fight. Just stay calm and be on guard.**_

She was already completely focused on the soul. As he walked out the door, she looked him over head to toe, not taking an eye off for a second. Just as she suspected, he was a mad scientist fit for a haunted house.

His patchwork lab coat and matching brown shirt could have just easily been sewn by a child. A single stitch stretched from the center of his hairline down across his left cheek and under his ear. He had long, grey, fluffy hair, despite looking to be about thirty, and light green eyes. If one could overlook his attire and impressive stature, the man was somewhat normal. Of course, there was the large screw coming out of his head, too. Really hard to ignore.

Once she was through with his outward appearance, the suit took a long stare at his soul. Her findings were not enjoyable, to say the least. The scientist was a very powerful meister with the ability to perceive souls from a mile away. Ergo, he probably – if not definitely – knew she was in trouble with Medusa and didn't bother to lend a hand. Needless to say the suit was _very_ unhappy.

"You jerk."

"Pardon?" The scientist's deep voice was inquisitive and unexpectedly polite.

"I can sense your soul perception ability. She could have killed me and you just sat there! If you could sense my soul, the least you could have done was bend her arm over or something!"

He smiled apologetically. "Sorry, but I didn't help because I wasn't exactly worried."

He took a box of cigarettes from his coat pocket and removed one, lit it, and blew a long smoke trail. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that witch wasn't winning that battle. Far from it. And at the hands of a little girl, no less."

 _What's he getting to? What does he want?_

The suit didn't know whether to be frightened or flattered. Whether he was like everyone else she encountered or just admiring of her power was hard to tell. The book's cover could never make obvious what it was about. Especially with him.

He took another puff and spoke again, his face more serious now. "Your arm still hurting you?"

 _What?_ "Oh, uh yes. Why?"

"I have bandages inside, follow me." He started walking to the door assuming she'd follow. The suit was still unsure and stayed put. He probably knew this and while looking at the night sky said, "I hear there's going to be a shower, tonight."

 _ **What's it gonna be? Cold, wet night in a tree out for all eyes to see or safe and dry in a stranger's house?**_

 _You make staying with a stranger sound so serenely average, Soul._

 _ **Medusa could come back while you're sleeping. Probably won't bother to capture you and just kill you for giving her trouble.**_

 _I know._

 _ **I have a good feeling about him, trust me. One night won't hurt.**_

She obeyed her conscience and followed the scientist inside.

The interior was similarly decorated with light and dark grey patchwork wallpaper. White arrows were painted on the floor pointing out and toward doors. On the left side of the room was a table with assorted beakers, cylinders, flasks, and a hot plate with a tea pot on it. A pipe ran along that one wall and went through into the next room. At the far end of the room was a computer desk between bookshelves. The right wall had another door leading beyond the lab.

 _If it's anything like this room, it probably doesn't look very homey._ They turned right and opened the door to what must have been his room. The same stitch patterns were on his bed and nightstand. Other than that, the room lacked anything close to personal items or memorabilia.

"Sit on the bed and keep putting pressure on the wound," he ordered. As she sat, he walked into the bathroom on the left and dug through the cabinets. He returned with a roll of gauze, just as promised, and began to wrap her arm.

There was a long period of silence between them as he worked. The suit, however, could tell even in the scientist's concentration that he had a lot on his mind. And why wouldn't he? A strange girl with strange power shows up on his doorstep and now he's mending her wounds. He needed the story. _I owe him that much._

"She wanted to make me a kishin." She looked at him, but there was no trace of surprise on his face.

"I could've guessed. There isn't a witch I've met yet who chases ordinary humans, not a one without potential." He finished his work and looked up at her. "What I want to know is what makes you so powerful that she wanted to use you."

 _How much do I tell him?_

 _ **Anything but about your birth. There's no telling what he'd do if he knew what you're made of.**_

Yes, there was; he'd experiment. Cut her open. See what makes her tick. Only after that seemed unclear. She wasn't even sure if he could tell him _anything_ now, with that in mind. But she remembered that she didn't really know him or his real intentions. He helped her, that was proof enough.

"I'm both a meister and a weapon, my kind being very rare. A power suit."

Blinking wide-eyed in curious astonishment, he stood up and settled across from her. He ushered the suit to tell her more. "I was… captured by witches as a little kid –well, _littler_ anyway– and they trained me in as many weapons and forms as possible. They would try to make me kill humans and eat their souls, but I refused. I hate what they put me through, so I ran away."

"Amazing," the scientist muttered. "You're quite a spectacle. And what are you going to do now?"

"I still don't know."

"I have an idea."

"You do? What?" She'd never been so skittish. Did he know where she could go from here? Standing on the bed, she towered above him in anticipation.

"Well, if you wish to obliterate kishins and help people, you could enter the DWMA."

"DWMA?"

"The Death Weapon Meister Academy. It was founded by Lord Death, the Grim Reaper himself. Students of the academy learn to protect and preserve peace by destroying the kishin and witches who threaten it. You may be young, but with your power and a little more training, I think you could make it."

Childish glee overtook the suit and she was jumping up and down on the bed. This was it. Her opportunity. She wasn't made to be a kishin, but raised to help people. Nothing could be better than this. _But who would train me?_ "How will I train?"

She stopped jumping and stared at him. The scientist was slightly frazzled from her excitement and straightened his glasses. No one could have been prepared for what he was about to offer, especially not him. He sighed and looked at the ceiling. "I suppose you could stay here and train with me."

The room went quiet again. He turned to look at the suit and saw her smiling ear to ear. _He really isn't like I thought. He's way better!_ "You'd really let me stay?"

"Yes, I think it would be a good learning experience for the both of us."

She hugged him tightly from the side. "Thank you so much, mister… uh, what's your name?"

"My name is Professor Franken Stein," he said pushing her off. "You can just call me Stein."

"Thank you, Stein," she said, slightly bowing her head.

"And your name?"

"Oh, uhh… I don't have one…"

"Hmm. Hold on a moment."

Stein left the room and came back with a book. The title read "Baby Names".

"Lucky for you, I used to have an idiot roommate who was becoming a father."

The suit was slightly curious about that story, but she shrugged it off and snatched the book out of his hands. She flipped through the pages for a few minutes, not finding one that matched her.

 _What do you think, Soul?_

 _ **I can't help you here. It's your name, your choice.**_

The one time she had to choose that wasn't a matter of life or death. There were so many names with so many meanings. What name could depict her for who she was? For that matter, what was she? Her life so far had been comprised of listening to her mind and body to guide her.

 _Listening. Listener._

"What's a name that means 'listener'?"

Stein took the book and turned the page to S names. He trailed his finger down the page and stopped at one. _Samantha._ "Seems like you. Is that the one you want?"

"...It's perfect." She hugged him again. _Samantha_. She had an identity and a home now, all because of Stein. "Thank you."

And this time he didn't push away. Uncomfortable as it was, this girl had a charm he could probably live with.

OAO…

Next update is coming soon! Later guys!


	18. Chapter 18

Hello, lovely people! My most adored audience, by far the best I could ask for! I couldn't do what I love without you. That's why I want to help out one of my new friends. He is an _amazing_ author. If you enjoy Avatar The Last Airbender, please read some fanfic by my buddy, **ManofManyHats**. You won't regret it! Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

I don't own Soul Eater. But gosh, are the male characters scrumptious!

OAO… _so sweet_

Stein woke up to the smell of something cooking. This was odd because he typically didn't have anyone else in his home, especially not to make him breakfast. People never exactly found the scientist very… inviting.

His closest acquaintances thought he was dangerous and didn't visit. He had no family to speak of. Any random person who passed and didn't already know Stein would hastily run away in fear. And he accepted this because they had every right to be afraid.

Stein was mad. Crazy. He wouldn't hesitate to cut open or rip apart whatever caught his interest, knowing the repercussions. It was always fun for him from the beginning, but certain doctors didn't believe that. They tried to find the source of Stein's madness and violence, taking too great a pleasure in studying him. Theorizing for long periods of time if he was traumatized or badly influenced. Of course, they came up short. They didn't get it.

As he grew up, Stein's madness became stronger desired to dissect more and more, his feelings never changed. Eventually, his fear put these actions to a standstill. He was afraid of what he would become.

That same fear of Stein was a part of getting to know him. And usually there was a long grace period before someone got used to his tendencies.

Samantha, however, was different. When Stein walked into the room and shut the door behind him, she didn't so much as flinch. She was standing over the table on a footstool, using a pan to cook bacon over the small hotplate.

"Morning, Stein," Samantha said her voice clear of exhaustion. "You're just in time, this one's ready." She turned the heat off and dumped the bacon onto a plate next to her.

Stein was completely puzzled. He found himself staring and shook his head.

"Uh… yeah, good morning. Where did you get the bacon? And the pan?"

"Well," she said handing him the plate, "since your kitchen is practically nonexistent and all I found was sushi in your fridge, I figured you needed some real food and real means of cooking. I took a couple bills before escaping a certain witch, you don't have to worry about me stealing your money."

 _Even_ I _didn't understand good living and theft at her age. How smart is she?_

"C'mon, eat! You need your protein!" Stein zoned out again, coming back to see Samantha hovering in front of his face, equaling out their height. He confusedly fumbled the bacon into his mouth. Another surprise.

"How did you learn to cook under the watch of witches?"

That one caught her off guard. Samantha lowered back down and contemplated how to answer, as if it were that hard a question. "Well, what's to learn? You take stuff and heat it up, plain and simple."

Stein shrugged it off and continued eating, walking over to his computer chair. Samantha sat on top of the table, letting her legs swing back and forth. She sat and watched as he ate his breakfast.

"I'm guessing you already had food?" Stein said.

Samantha nodded in response. "I've been up for a while, I'm excited to train with someone who understands."

He chuckled at this. "Funny, I assumed that I had to somehow get you out of bed."

She melodramatically flew a hand to her chest, wounded. "You think I'm some sort of child!"

Stein raised an eyebrow and Samantha let her act go, smiling. "But honestly, I wanted to do this with you. Did you really believe I would sleep the day away?"

"Not really." He finished his food and left the plate on the computer desk. "Before we get started, there's some things I'd like to know."

Stein grabbed a piece of printer paper and a pen. He handed them to Samantha. "For future reference, I need you to write down all the weapons you've been trained to use and how well you work with them. Think you can do that?"

Samantha nodded. "What are you gonna do?"

"I have some business to go take care of," he said, grabbing a briefcase by the front door. "I'll be back in about an hour. Do you think you can manage alone?"

"Yeah, no problem," Samantha saluted at him and started working.

Stein was about to leave when he started having doubts. Powerful or not, it was probably wrong to leave a little girl in his house. _Alone_. While it seemed like Samantha would be working for a long while after he left, he couldn't help but think of curiosity getting the best of her. Then she would touch things and break them. One reason Stein was still unsure of her staying here.

"Hey, Stein?" Samantha's voice snapped him back into reality. "Aren't you gonna be late?"

He turned to face her. "What will you do after you finish the list?"

She looked him in the eye and said, "Probably stretch out for training, I've been planning on it all morning."

The scientist heaved a sigh of relief and began to exit. "See you later, kid."

"Later!"

Stein closed to door behind him and began his trek into Death City. _Let's just hope this works out._

OAO… _at the DWMA_

"A weapon and meister both?" Lord Death said in his always benevolent tone. Stein stood across from him on the other side of the platform in the Death Room. "And a power suit, at that! Golly-gee, Stein, where did you acquire such a child?"

"She showed up last night in my yard. Said a witch was chasing her and that there were others." Stein blew a puff of smoke from his cigarette. "They wanted to make her a kishin."

Lord Death looked down in thought. "And she was never loyal to them?"

"Yes, sir. With your permission, I think Samantha would make a good student at the academy."

"Hmm… I'll need to see her first to decide. Can you bring her tomorrow?"

Stein took a final puff and put it out under his shoe. "Sure. That all you need?"

The reaper thought back for anything else. With a start, he remembered. "Oh, that's right! When you didn't show yesterday, I had Spirit go to your house to check on you. He's on his way there now. How will the child react to him?"

 _Uh oh._ Stein ran through the guillotine gates and out the door.

OAO…

Samantha had finished her list and was practicing soul wavelength techniques. Nothing that could break Stein's stuff but strong enough to test her abilities. She was using her Soul Symphony move to keep a blue flame in midair. The song Soul was playing could barely be heard, as trying not to distract her from the task at hand.

But that didn't stop her mind from racing with concern. Samantha hadn't seen Julianna since last night. Not one sign. _Keep going, girl! I'll catch up to you!_ Those were the last words she said. But it was hours ago. Now there was no telling where she went. What if she couldn't escape Medusa after all? Or maybe she turned back into a cat and got picked up by a stranger? The thought sent shivers up Samantha's spine.

A knock came from the front door. The soul she felt wasn't Stein's. No. This was a highly trained weapon. More accurately, a scythe.

Without a response, they banged the door harder. Why he was here didn't matter to Samantha. She didn't know him and his presence was threatening. _Stein would want me to protect his lab._

She heard the door begin to creak open and hid behind it. A man with crimson red hair, blue eyes, a black blazer and olive green button-down dress shirt walked inside. He looked around the room and found nothing out of sorts, turned back to see Samantha, and was swiftly knocked unconscious with the newly bought frying pan.

OAO…

Stein ran through his gates and into the house, seeing what had happened. He brought a palm up to his forehead in a display of embarrassment.

"Just as I thought," Stein said, looking down at his idiot partner. Spirit was tied up in the leather straps from previous experiments, still out cold with a dumb look on his face. Samantha was sitting on top of him, very proud of taking out the foolish man.

"Back so soon?" She said smiling brightly.

Stein sighed and put down his briefcase. "It's all been taken care of. Can you untie him please?"

She gave a disappointed look. "I thought you were gonna do weird stuff to him."

"Already did, plenty of times, actually."

Realization hit her head on. "Oooh, _this_ is the idiot roommate you mentioned!" Samantha got off his back and looked at his face. She immediately scratched her head sheepishly. "And here I thought he was some sort of powerful villain."

"He can be strong when he wants to be," Stein said crouching down next to her. "But mostly he's an oblivious nitwit. I suppose he has some use though."

At that moment, Spirit slowly came to. He noticed he was tied up and started squirming. "Stein, what's the big idea?! I came here to check on you and this little girl ambushes me out of nowhere! You said there was no way you'd ever have kids."

Stein stood back up. "There still isn't, Samantha is no one's kid. I'll explain in a minute." He began to walk off to the left room. "Sam, could you make some more of that bacon? I'm still hungry."

"Yeah, sure!" She followed him, leaving Spirit alone on the floor, still tied up.

"Hey, wait a second! You can't leave me like this! I want bacon, too! Guys!" And he would stay that way for another hour.

OAO… _Present day_

"Say WHAAAAT?!" Blackstar's yell rang all throughout the cafeteria. Last night's events were just relayed, to everyone's surprise. He was leaning against the table pointing to Soul and Maka's intertwined fingers. "Y-you g-g-guys are… dating?!"

They simply nodded and continued enjoying each other's company. Maka was totally lost in Soul's dark red eyes.

"I can't believe this! Reality is falling apart! It must be the end of the world! Next thing you know, another Kishin will come back! Tear people apart with madness and _destroy us all!_ We're all gonna d–"

The scythe meister was tired of Blackstar's antics and chopped his head with a book.

Tsubaki looked at them and smiled. "I knew this would happen someday. I'm really happy for you two."

Maka took her attention off the foolish ninja and toward her friend. "Thanks, Tsubaki."

The two Thompson sisters had their heads lying on the their arms, melodramatically upset.

"The best kiss of the century and we didn't get to see it!" Liz whined, followed by Patty. "Yeah, no fair!"

Blackstar moaned with disgust. Unfortunately for him, they would probably do more of it. A lot more.

"Hey, speaking of couples, where are Sam and Kid?" Blackstar had noticed they weren't in class at all today.

Liz groaned. "On some 'crucial' mission together. Said they found a witch she knew."

"And he didn't take you two with?"

"No."

Maka put a hand on Liz's shoulder. "I'm sure Kid just wanted you to be safe."

"Thanks, I appreciate the thought." Liz knew it was only because of Samantha's dangerous past that Kid went with her alone. There was no way she would be Kid's permanent weapon partner. Liz and Patty couldn't be replaced. She just wished Kid saw her in that lovey dovey way.

"Hey, Soul Eater!" The whole group turned around to see Spirit Albarn standing near the cafeteria entrance. They were instantly fearful for the couple at the table. _He knows._

Soul and Maka tore their hands apart and tried to go back to their lunch. The scythe had terrible difficulty as he could still feel a father's eyes staring at his soul. Of course, figuratively, not literally, because Spirit was a weapon.

The Death Scythe began walking towards them, and Maka flushed with fear and anger. Both she and Spirit knew he had no real control in her life– not since the divorce. Still, the fear of rejection somehow wormed its way inside her. He never liked Soul, constantly threatening to kill him if Maka got hurt. _What will he say?_

Spirit towered above Soul, who was still too petrified to look up from his meal. _No. If I love Maka I need to be brave. Besides, since when has Maka's dad ever scared me?_ He put on a determined face and looked the older weapon dead in the eye.

"I came over here to say something to you," Spirit said. "And you better listen."

A silence fell. Maka darted her vision between her father and weapon. All the students leaned in to hear.

Spirit sighed and closed his eyes. "Take good care of my daughter, okay?"

They were awestruck. Right up until the moment he left the cafeteria.

OAO…

Update soon! Bye, guys!


	19. Chapter 19

Hello, my lovely readers! Thanks to all reviewers and followers. Ok, so here's a story. This Saturday, I went to an anime convention in Winston-Salem. And my favorite voice actor was there, Vic Mignogna. I wanted to get a recording of him saying a line from Death Suit as Spirit Albarn, but it was unfortunately against the rules. However, he did say he'd like to read it, not to mention I also got his autograph! So Vic, if you're reading this, thank you so much!

I don't own Soul Eater… I can't afford a trip to Japan.

OAO… _Ten years previous_

"I can't believe you guys just left me tied up in there!" A certain Spirit Albarn was still moping over Samantha's ambush. Not only was it embarrassing to be taken down by a child, but he was irritated that Stein was rewarding her for it. Patting her on the head, he completely ignored the scythe's whining. And she was enjoying the praise thoroughly.

"Honestly, Spirit, you could have cut yourself out whenever you wanted. It's not our fault you didn't figure it for yourself. Besides, Samantha was only trying to protect the house."

Spirit grunted angrily, but quickly shrugged it off. There was no point being mad at this odd child. After Stein explained Samantha's situation— what with the witches on her tail, the scythe couldn't help but pity her. He sighed and looked in her direction. "Yeah, I guess. 'Suppose it was… impressive."

She looked taken aback by his comment before nodding her head. "Thank you."

Stein stood up and retrieved the list of weapons from the table. "I'm actually glad you're here, Spirit. I need to train Samantha just a little more before she can enter the academy." He glanced down at the paper and scanned all its contents. Looking back up, he pointed at his partner. "And according to this, the only weapon she hasn't been specialized in is a scythe."

Spirit waved his hands frantically in front of him. "Wait, what?! You're not _seriously_ suggesting that she and need to resonate together, are you? What if she—"

"What if I what?" Samantha pounded her fist on the table, causing it to shake vigorously. "What are you afraid I'll do, huh?"

"Um, well… I …." He stood there scratching his head and darting his eyes away, actually very scared for her reaction. "... You see, because you're a kid, I'm just not sure how stable we'd be together. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

Samantha's face was flushed with both embarrassment and ferocity. _I can resonate with anyone, no matter the age. He's going to_ eat _those words._ "I won't get hurt, and I _will_ resonate with you!" She grabbed his hand and stomped outside, dragging him along and grumbling to herself inaudibly.

OAO…

Stein held Spirit as a scythe in his hands, demonstrating for their student. Samantha was leaning against the tree and watching them closely. She was still fuming from what the older weapon said, but she refused to let that get in the way of her training. Looking at him this way, he was a very good weapon, indeed.

His design was very simplistic, entirely black from the skinny handle to the long, thick blade. Said blade protruded from the cross-shaped handle, shaped straight then curving at the tip.

They were balancing with one another, both of their wavelengths being concentrated. Samantha could see how they conjoined perfectly. Spirit tamed the madness inside Stein, and Stein's more introverted side calmed Spirit's outgoing personality. Linking together, passing their wavelengths back and forth, working together to forge a powerful technique. The pair shouted in unison, "Let's go, Soul Resonance!"

Soon, they were glowing, Spirit's blade shone like a white diamond. Samantha had heard of this technique, but could never create it. Even if she had mastered scythes in time, she never used human weapons. The operation was kept very quietly. She knew she could resonate with whoever, she just never saw it before. Basking in the radiance of the Witch Hunter, Samantha was dying to try it for herself. With the resonance fully charged, Stein leapt high into the air, and descending sliced a crevice in the earth.

The two souls' power decelerated, and Spirit changed back to a human. He and Stein were exhausted. While Samantha was determined, she still had doubts. _What if I can't do this?_

 _ **You can.**_ Soul said. _**I told you I was a scythe, remember? And Maka was my meister. This was meant for you, Sam.**_

She walked to the scythe, splayed on the ground, and took his hand. Before Spirit had the chance to react, Samantha pinched a nerve in his wrist, changing him back into a weapon. "Wha—? Hey, how'd you do that?! Wait, I'm not ready! Sam!"

"Just calm down, ya big baby, I won't hurt you." _Probably._ He was undoubtedly still complaining, but she was too busy searching his soul to hear him. If Samantha wanted to resonate with Spirit, she needed to understand him.

The wavelength she felt was just what she expected of him. Strong, but flimsy about it. Taking pride in his skill and flaunting it whenever he could. A heavy drinker, too. Yet in all his pride, there was a special place in his heart for friends and family, especially his child. Even in that very moment, Spirit was awaiting the moment to see his little girl. Practically gushing.

 _He must be very protective of her. I should have known that from the beginning._

 _ **You just hate that feeling of being weak. I was just like that.**_ Soul's tone was regretful.

 _And that's why you risked your life to save Maka, isn't it?_

 _ **Yeah… I thought I needed to make up for not being strong enough against Ragnarok. I saved her, but… I only made her cry. Not very cool of me, huh?**_

 _That's not entirely true, Soul._ Samantha replied. _Sometimes we have to protect each other, even if others hate it. You taught me that yourself._

He went quiet for a while, a mind of his own whirring. He laughed. _**I guess you really are like Maka, too. So smart and stupid, all at once. And you both have a crazy big heart. So you can resonate with him now?**_

 _I think so._ "Listen, Spirit."

He stopped complaining. "What is it?"

"You don't have to worry, okay? I'm sorry for overreacting."

The scythe let out a breath of relief. "Yeah, me too."

"Do you trust me?" She moved the blade in front her face. His face mirrored back at her, smiling. He nodded.

Samantha and Spirit inhaled and exhaled in unison. Slowly but surely, their two souls linked together. She was new to this, the feeling of truly becoming one with someone. She never knew what Soul and Maka did to merge their opposing personalities. _It must have been wonderful._ In the heat of battle, it seemed like a comfort. Not just having a partner, having a _friend_.

She's never had someone worry for her before Julianna or Spirit and Stein. Never had a home. No one to turn to. Now that Samantha had them, she was going to do just what Soul did.

 _Hold them close._

And the blade of the scythe once again shined bright like a star.

OAO…

The final bell of the day rang throughout the academy's halls. All the students of Class Crescent Moon collectively grabbed their things and filed out. Except for Maka Albarn. Her confusion from that afternoon's events hadn't faded away.

 _Take good care of my daughter, okay?_ That's what her father had said. Really. She had expected him to explode, just like every other time. Forbid the weapon and meister from escalating out of the friend zone. What any dad would do, of course, just not as spastic. And that couldn't have changed even if she begged him.

But it did. _I should be thrilled, right?_ Maka remembered the pure look of relief on Soul's face after it happened. He probably thought he had to fight the Death Scythe to get her. Yet it was so simple.

"Hey, you okay?" He stood next to Maka, right on cue. Soul Eater's red eyes could so easily tell his what her words couldn't. "It's your dad, isn't it?"

"Yeah." She stared off at the chalkboard in the front of the classroom. "What should I do?"

He sighed. "You've got me there."

"Why do you think he agreed?"

"There, too."

Maka huffed at him. They went silent for a while. She looked at her partner. "I'm gonna go talk to him. Meet you at home later?"

Soul looked back in her direction and grinned with his shark-like teeth. "You know it."

Without another thought she kissed him on the cheek and ran out of the class. Maka knew exactly where her dad would be. She flew up several flights of stairs and down one hall until reaching it. The balcony. The best place in all of Death City to get a good look of the always laughing sun.

Just as she predicted, Spirit Albarn was leaning over the railing, gazing at the buildings below. He must have heard Maka panting, because he quickly turned to look at her, bent over in exhaustion. "Maka?"

She was dazed from running so hard. That much running never was for him before. And why would it? He cheated on his wife, ran away from the responsibilities of a family man, obliterated most of the trust his only daughter felt for him. But after today, Maka didn't know how to feel.

She stood straight and looked him in the eye. "What made you change your mind about Soul?"

The tension between them was so thick, it was hard for her to breath. Spirit wasn't answering, staring down at his feet. His thoughts were unintelligible, his face blank.

Maka stepped closer. "Tell me, Papa."

It was his turn to look at her. "I knew that it would happen eventually."

"What?" Maka croaked.

"Yeah. And I know he'll protect you." He turned his back to her and leaned on the rail again. He patted the spot next to him. She hesitantly shuffled to her father's side, still shocked. They went quiet again, still sort of awkward.

 _What do I say?_ She wanted to talk to him, but the words didn't come. Maka turned to look at him, she still couldn't read his eyes. They were hooded from the light.

"Isn't— isn't this what you want?" Spirit's voice betrayed his face, quivering and low. "Will this make you happy, Maka? After all, that's everything I care about."

At the sound, Maka's facade shattered. She hastily squeezed him in a real, full-on hug. They both cried into each other, desperate for love after years of separation.

"I'm still mad about what you did to Mama, that much hasn't changed. But…" She scrunched his dress shirt in her fist. Looking up at her dad with glassy eyes, she whispered, "I still love you, Papa."

"I love you, too, Maka." Spirit sniffled.

The father and daughter let go of each other, now looking down at the city below. Then she remembered.

"Papa?"

He turned to face her again. "Yes?"

"Do you know what Kid and Sam are doing on that mission?"

"No idea, sorry."

"It's fine. I'll see you later, okay?"

He nodded and waved as he watched his daughter walk away. It was the start of a better relationship between them.

OAO… _aww_

See you later, guys! ;)


	20. Chapter 20

It's here. The twentieth chapter of Death Suit! Such a wondrous achievement, a great stepping stone. I, once again, couldn't have done any of it without you guys. I enjoy this because of your follows and reviews. Thanks again!

I don't own Soul Eater. Darn!

OAO… _Ten years previous_

It had been almost one month since Samantha came to stay with Stein. Most of the time she spent training was physical, honing both her meister and weapon skills. Lord Death had met with her and asked that she be prepared for evaluation for entry to the academy. "Do this and when the time is right, I will make you a student. Good luck!" He said, making a peace sign with his enormous gloved hand.

Samantha had to be wielded by Stein a couple times, whom was completely enthralled with the prospect of a new skill himself. Wearing her, flying around and shooting lasers, it made him feel like a kid in a candy store. And after that, Spirit would come over and help her with scythe techniques, every so often testing her other abilities as well.

However, there were some times she had to spend writing, learning about the more academic side of school. Nothing Soul and Maka taught could ready her for this. Even as slim as the work was, considering the DWMA's purpose was mostly protection, the load had to be doubled because she was a weapon and a meister.

Despite the hardships, Samantha was improving vastly by the day, working her hardest in both areas. One night, Stein caught her working late on the homework he assigned her.

"You should get some sleep," he said.

"I can't until I get this stupid question right." She was angrily eyeing down the paper.

"Need help?"

She quickly turned her head in his direction. "Would you?" He smiled and nodded, proceeding to tutor her.

Soon Samantha loved doing it all, and she was dying for the day she was tested. Ready to put her talent to use. Ready to see the fruit of all her efforts. So it was weird for her that on the last she was asked to relax.

"Relax?!" She said in exasperation. "Shouldn't I still be training? The evaluation is tomorrow, Stein!"

"Yes, I know." The scientist replied nonchalantly, not turning away from the computer screen. "But you've been working nonstop this whole time. You need a break. If you keep going, then you'll be too tired to do well."

Seeing his point, Samantha sighed. "But what am I supposed to do? I've never had down time before."

"You could take a nap."

"I'm not a baby."

"Watch TV?"

"Nah." She slumped down next to Stein's desk. It seemed so much easier to do something instead of nothing. At least then there was a plan. Now that there was a goal for tomorrow, that was all she thought about. She looked back up at Stein, who was now staring right back. He was almost searching her face for something.

"You're a real strange kid, you know," he sighed. "Lucky for you, I know how it feels." He reached into his pocket and grabbed something. Samantha was surprised to find it wasn't a cigarette. It was a ten dollar bill. Stein passed it to her and smiled. "Go into Death City and do something fun. Be back by eight, okay?"

 _Well, it's a start, at least._ She nodded. "Thanks, Stein." And with that she dashed out the door.

OAO…

Just another sunny afternoon in Death City, a certain white-haired girl walking barefoot through the cobblestone streets. She'd been here a few times before with Stein and Spirit, to get groceries and books for studying. It was a nice place, despite the name.

If you would believe it, there was no place livelier that she'd ever visited. Children and grownups all crowded the walkways, most of them fanning themselves from the constant beating of the sun.

Samantha asked around for the time. Four o'clock. Four hours until she had to return home. Stein told her to do something fun, which would be easy if she knew what normal kids did. The past few weeks of training was her favorite entertainment. But she was told specifically not to train today. _Great. Now what?_

She stopped walking when she heard the delighted squeal of another child. It came from around the corner. Heading in that direction, Samantha slowly saw it. A bunch of kids, crowded around a giant, plastic play area. They screamed like banshees, playing their games, climbing up ladders and sliding down slides, swinging on the swing sets and drawing in chalk on the concrete. And most of them were her own age.

They didn't seem to have a care in the world, not like Samantha did. No fear, no responsibility, and not one thought for their future. She instantly felt out of place, so far away from them and their freedom. Even now that she had no one in her way, she still had all the memories. The training. The hurt. Everything that set her apart from the normal she craved. "What I'd give to be like you guys," she whispered.

A trash can toppled over behind her. She turned back to see a pink cat rummaging through the garbage. "Julianna?" At her voice, the cat dashed away. "Wait, come back!"

Samantha let her jet boots kick in and flew in its direction. _Why is she running?_ She managed to corner it in the alley between two buildings. Inspecting it closer, she saw it wasn't her friend she'd chased. The soul didn't have Julianna's same magical property, and appeared to be an adult male.

She let out an exasperated sigh, allowing the imposter to slink out of sight. After all this time, Julianna still hadn't shown up. "Where are you?" She wondered aloud. Sitting down next to a quarter newspaper stand, Samantha silently prayed she'd find her feline friend soon. She was the only other one who saw a part of what the witches did. Julianna had seen her struggle. And without her, the girl was alone.

Deep in thought, she barely noticed the boy running into the alley. He was about her age, too, but his soul was different somehow. _I can't place it, but I've felt something similar._ His outward appearance was strange as well, pitch-black hair with three white lines over the left side of his head. He wore a white, button-up collared shirt with two red lines coming down each shoulder, black shorts and matching dress shoes. The oddest– yet probably most attractive– part was his shining eyes, the color of gold.

He was out of breath and shaking. Seeing him clearly, Samantha noticed purple blossoming on his right cheek and his bleeding upper lip. Someone beat him up. And their footsteps were getting closer. She felt them before she saw them. Two slightly older boys, towering over him like giants.

"Thought you could run away, didn't you?" One of them sneered. The other grabbed the black-haired boy by the collar and shoved him against the wall. He let out a cry of pain."Well, you were wrong. And now you pay for messing with us."

 _Oh, no he won't!_ She stood up and walked towards them. "Leave him alone!"

The boys were startled at Samantha's voice, but quickly burst out in cruel laughter. "Or what? You'll hurt us?" The other crowed.

"Don't underestimate me." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Under-what?" He had a dumb look on his face.

The first picked up their victim and tightly gripped his arm. "What if I do this?" And he twisted back his arm, making him yelp. Samantha heard Maka's voice again, from the day Soul saved her. _Soul!_

She lunged forward and punched the bully in the gut, knocking all the air out. He released the black-haired boy, who ducked to the wall and rubbed his aching shoulder. This made the second one angry. He charged for her, but caught nothing but air as she vanished and reappeared high above him, kicking him hard in the back. She leapt off of him and back on the ground, now standing tall above the two. "When someone says 'don't underestimate me', it means they're a lot stronger than you. Hurt him again and it'll be worse next time." And they ran away.

Samantha turned back to see the boy staring at her. Not in fear, not in gratitude, but in anger. _He's_ mad _at me?_

 _ **He's embarrassed,**_ Soul said. _**Getting saved by a girl isn't exactly cool for a guy.**_

Before she could help him to his feet, the boy ran out of sight. She didn't dare go after him. _It's not like I'll ever see him again._ But she still puzzled over the feeling his soul gave off. Where else did she sense it?

Samantha stopped musing over it and left. Before going home, she went into a dollar store and picked up something for Stein. When she came in the house, she dropped a plastic bag on the computer desk in front of him and stormed off into her room.

"I'm guessing she didn't have fun," the scientist mused. He dumped out the contents of the bag in his lap. It was a box of cigarettes and a card. As he lit one he read what Samantha wrote.

 _Thanks for trying, Stein. You've made my time worthwhile. Let's keep our fingers crossed for tomorrow. –Sam_

"Good luck," Stein said with a smile, blowing a cloud of smoke.

OAO…

More to come, good fellows! See ya later!


	21. Chapter 21

Sorry it took so long, guys. There were a couple complications along with this chapter. But it's up now, and that's all that matters. Let's go!

I don't own Soul Eater. But I wish he were real.

OAO… _same_

The gym inside the DWMA was no different than one at any other school. Basketball hoops on two sides, hardwood flooring, bleachers in red and black, and a banner hanging on each wall. Lord Death's image was on each one, bold letters above his head. _Victory! Victory! Victory!_

Samantha's test seemed simple enough. If she could defeat all the kishin robots, she would earn her acceptance into the academy. Easy peasy. That is, of course, if they didn't kill her first. Five waves worth could do that. But she refused to go down today.

Stein, Spirit, and Lord Death himself sat in the bleachers to watch. The Reaper appeared indifferent when he wore his mask, but underneath he was rooting for his possibly new student. If she succeeded, Samantha would be known as the youngest to enroll. Seeing someone her age gave him hope for his own little diamond in the rough.

His son was bound to one day take his place as a death god and protector from madness. So far, however, he didn't seem to be fitting up to the task. The child should have learned how to summon his Reaper's Chariot by now, among other necessary skills a death god must obtain. And Lord Death began questioning whether or not his heir would live up to his image. Now was different, and he believed his son could accomplish anything.

Spirit, however, wasn't as enthusiastic about this test as the reaper was. He and Samantha had been able to look past their problems and came together for her training. They'd even become close friends. But even with all the knowledge he'd given her, doubt was seeping into the scythe's mind. _What if we didn't teach her enough? What if she fails? If she gets_ hurt?

"You really shouldn't have that kind of mindset." At Stein's words, Spirit snapped back to attention.

He stared at the scientist scared and accusingly. "What, so you can read minds now?!"

Stein grinned smugly at him. "Don't have to. It's written all over your face, not to mention your soul is trembling." He pointed a thumb back at their protege, his eyes and tone darkening. "That little girl over there can see it just as well as I can. So I suggest you get your act together."

The scythe tensed at his friend's tone, but slowly nodded in agreement. "Right, sorry."

His smile returned, now more genuine. "Don't worry about it, Spirit. We put all we needed into training her. And her soul is strong. She's not an ordinary kid." Stein turned back to face her. Upon seeing him, Samantha gave a little salute while in her stance. "She'll be fine."

Samantha had already stretched and was wearing her suit. All there was left to do was wait. She looked at the countdown clock on the basketball scoreboard. Thirty seconds.

 _ **Are you ready?**_

 _Yeah! I'm gonna pass this test!_ She visibly clenched a fist in front of her.

 _ **Good. I'm proud of you. Working hard and meeting your goal, that's your best power.**_

 _Thanks, you guys. Both of you._ She looked back one more time to her teachers, who both gave her a thumbs-up. _And you._

Samantha looked up to the ceiling where the drones would enter, keeping her eyes trained on metal doors. She could still hear a voice counting over the loudspeaker. "Seven. Six. Five."

 _Four. Three. Two. One._

As the siren blared, the steel gates crept open with a long, slow screech. One by one, dozens of three-eyed robots the size of a bird of prey flew down to greet her. She wouldn't give them the chance to attack. Before the small army could get in range to shoot her, Samantha burned them all to a crisp with her Symphony Cannon. _They won't be so easy next time._

Just as she predicted, the next round of drones were slightly faster and needed more hits to be taken down. That meant any one of them could sneak behind her and attack while she was distracted. But Sam had planned for that, dodging an onslaught from the front which then aimed for the ones on her back. It took a whole lot longer than the first wave, but she made it out in one piece.

As she tried to stay ahead of the game and get the first strike for the third wave, Samantha soon realized that this new set was impervious to wavelength attacks. She couldn't use the Cannon anymore. She barely evaded their lasers while trying to shoot. _What now?_ Looking around frantically, she spotted Spirit. Her weapon. _Right,_ _I get it._ She turned to the bleachers, cupped her hands around her mouth and called out, "Lord Death, is it at all possible for me to bring my weapon partner out here for the rest of the test? I'd really like to show you my skills as a meister!" _That's what he really wants, anyway._

The reaper chuckled. "If you say so!" He nodded to Spirit, who flashed into the hands of his younger meister.

"You really want my help, Sam?" the scythe asked.

Samantha turned the handle to look into the blade. To look him in the eye. "I couldn't ask for a better weapon partner, Spirit. I need you."

She pretended to ignore the waterworks leaking from the hilt as she sliced all the drones to pieces. Three waves down, two to go. At this point, she was exhausted. Flying around made her legs sore, using her wavelength moves left her drained. And even though she'd practiced hard to wield Spirit daily, he was still a lot longer and heavier than what she'd worked with before. Swinging him around was like a javelin in the Olympics.

"Have you… ever considered… going on a _diet?_ " She panted.

"Hey! It's not my fault that you can't carry me that long! I'm a grown man and you're four feet tall! I'm not _fat!_ "

"Whatever, just lay off the potato chips, mister." She teased, hearing him growl.

The fourth wave hit hard. The robots were on the quickest setting they would get to, and the lasers could now sense heat. Samantha had to disappear and reappear behind them to land any attacks. Using that for all the drones left her dazed. But she was still determined to make it. _Only one left._

"Listen, Spirit," she said in a clear voice. "If this final round is as tough as I think it is, we'll need to resonate. Be ready."

"I've got you covered, Sam. Your excellent– and handsome– weapon partner will help you to victory!"

Samantha sighed. "Spirit, please don't push it. I said you were a good weapon partner, but handsome is a bit of an overstatement."

He cringed at her words, letting out a little whimper.

"Haha, I'm only joking! In all seriousness, though," she said smiling, "you really are the best. I kind of think of you… as a part of my family. You and Stein. I know we'll win today."

"We?" Spirit's voice was trembling. _Us, a family?_

"Yeah. We."

"...Thanks, Sam. Let's do this!"

"Right!" Samantha looked up at the ceiling, ready for the final round. But something was different. The doors were closed. No drones were out to attack her. _What's going on?_

Suddenly, the broken parts of defeated robots shuddered and began gravitating toward each other. Repairing themselves, but not to their original form. No, they were mashing _together_. The last wave wasn't a wave at all. It was a boss level.

By the time they finished, the last opponent was clear. A witch. The pile of discarded scrap and wiring turned into giant mannequin on a hovering broomstick, wearing generic witch garb and three red eyes.

Before Samantha could even think, the robot's arms shifted into machine guns and shot flaming wands. She couldn't fly out of the way in time, the wands seared through her side. She let out a scream as they burned her skin.

" _Samantha!_ " Spirit cried out.

Samantha clutched her side and flew out of the way of more wands. "I'll be alright, but we need to get rid of it quick."

She only had enough energy to teleport one last time, and she planned to use it to slice off one arm when the robot didn't see it coming. _Please be worth it!_ In a flash, she was gone and back again, cutting off the mechanical limb. She felt a twinge of success come and go as the arm moved back into place. And swing for her body. _Oh no._

In the blink of an eye, Samantha's back went thwack against the wall, and she landed on the ground with a thud.

"We should probably use Witch Hunter, now maybe?!" Spirit yelled.

"It's not gonna do any good if the robot can fix itself," she moaned. Samantha slowly stood up, throbbing all over and leaning on the scythe. "I need to find the source of its power and destroy it. Then I can use Witch Hunter. But where—"

"The hat!" The scythe flashed and Spirit's upper body came through the blade. He pointed to the metal hat the witch wore. Under closer inspection, one of the scrap robot heads were glowing.

"Got it!" She didn't have the energy to fly anymore, but she coaxed the witch closer by running around and flailing her arms in the air. Once it was close enough she jumped on, ran up to its face and launched for the hat. Samantha landed on the brim and yanked the head until it gave way. The witch crashed onto the floor and it's once mended arm fell off.

"Now, Spirit!"

"Right!"

And they simultaneously charged their shared wavelengths. "Let's go, Soul Resonance!"

Samantha gripped the glowing scythe tightly and wound up for the swing. "Witch Hunter!"

The witch robot shattered like glass. The girl's panting was all that could be heard. Her partner turned back into a human and crouched down next to her. He smiled at her. "You did it."

She hugged him. "I couldn't have without my partner. Thanks, Spirit." Releasing the older weapon, Sam turned and ran to Stein, who was standing in front of the bleachers, and jumped on his chest, squeezing him tightly. "Thank you so much, Stein. You've brought me so far," she said, muffled into his shirt.

He squeezed her back, happy for his student and friend. But something made him feel sad, like a feeling of regret. _Why do I feel this way? She's hugged me like this a lot before._ Thinking back, Stein realised that this may be the last time she gets to hug him. She could end up somewhere else with a partner of her own. She could leave him. _Why should I care? I don't want children… do I?_

"That was a bang-up job you did, Sam," Lord Death said gleefully. "Congratulations."

Samantha slid off the scientist and bowed her head. "Thank you, sir."

"I think you deserve a little reward for your hard work. How would you like for me to throw you a little party?"

She was surprised at this, throwing her hands around frantically. "Oh, no no! You don't have to go to all that trouble!"

The reaper laughed sheepishly and fiddled with his fingers. "The thing is, I kinda already did."

Samantha's face was filled with what seemed like happy shock. "You knew that I would pass?"

"Mostly, yes. I was actually sorta banking on it. To be honest, I'd love any reason to have a little get-together, me being stuck in the school all day long and everything."

She smiled and stuck out her hand. "I'll be there, Lord Death."

He shook it. "Splendid! I've arranged for it to be on this weekend, and your first class starts on Monday. See you soon, Sam."

"You, too."

She walked home with a spring in her step, knowing she had finished what she started.

OAO… _two days later_

"I get that I have to wear the dress, I really do! But these shoes?" Samantha argued for the third time that night on her sandals. It was the evening of the party to celebrate her passing the test.

She wore a black sleeveless dress reaching down to her knees with a white bow tying around the back. Her hair was put up in a high ponytail. All that was left were the shoes, what she despised.

Stein finished straightening his tie to look at her. His formal attire wasn't too different from what he usually wore. The tuxedo on him had the same white stitchwork pattern as his lab coat. "Yes, Samantha, you have to wear them. This is a formal event where no one can be barefoot. Besides, it's not ladylike." She groaned and complied to his orders, slipping the sandals on.

Normally, he didn't care how Sam looked, allowing her to go around without shoes as she so desired. But lately, he felt different. Like she was his responsibility. He wanted her to be… he didn't know what. _Maybe, my daughter?_ He sighed. _What on earth is wrong with me? She wouldn't want me as her father._

He heard a knock at the door. "It's open, Spirit."

The scythe came dressed in black tie. When he saw Samantha walk to him, he became jittery with excitement. "Aww, Samantha looks adorable! Just wook at the cute wittle dwess!"

"What's that? All I heard was, 'Sam, please break my arm!'"

Spirit tensed and laughed nervously. "I mean… you look nice. I'll be in the car." He hastily ran back outside.

"He's not entirely wrong, you know," Stein said, crouching down to her height. "You look beautiful."

She smiled at him. "Thank you." He walked toward the door, ready to leave, before she spoke again. "Stein?"

"Yes?" He faced Samantha, who looked embarrassed by something.

"...Nevermind. Let's go."

"If you say so." He walked out while she stayed behind, thinking hard.

 _How am I going to tell him I want to stay with him?_

 _ **We'll get there, just wait. I'll be there to help.**_

She ran out and closed the door behind her.

OAO… _at Gallows Manor_

It was the biggest house Samantha had ever been in. And the most people she'd seen in one place at the same time. They were gathered at the mansion to see _her_. It was a scary feeling, all of their eyes looking at her expectantly, like a celebrity about to perform.

Stein eased her tension as he spoke. "Lord Death, thank you so much for inviting us here tonight."

"No trouble at all! Thanks for coming, everybody!" The reaper made a peace sign. "Let's not just stand around here! Dance! Eat! Have a good time!"

You didn't have to tell them twice. The other guests mingled and went about, some of them went up to Sam to congratulate her. So far, everyone she encountered was either a former student of the academy, a staff member, or both. There was no one under twenty in the mansion that she'd seen. Even so, the party was fun. She took turns dancing with Spirit and Stein, and the food was amazing, she was stuffed with goofy skull-shaped entrees.

She was a little tired after all that and sat down at one of the dining tables next to Stein. He needed the break, too. "Enjoying yourself so far?" He laughed as she slumped against the chair.

"You know it." Sam smiled. "But Spirit managed to overdo it. He's losing his dinner in the bathroom."

The two laughed. The scientist wiped a tear from his eye. "Just like him have too much fun."

"Mmm-hmm."

They went quiet for a little bit, conversations on their minds but too afraid to say them. They didn't know they wanted the same thing. To be together like this all the time. They turned to face each other at the same time. Stein was confused when the girl looked at something behind him.

Samantha couldn't believe her eyes. It was the boy from the alley, the one who was bullied. He was completely unscathed, the bruise and cut was completely gone. The short-sleeved collared shirt was replaced by a light brown long-sleeved one with black suspenders and a dark brown tie. His face was blank, golden eyes staring off into space. And he was standing right next to Lord Death.

"Stein, who is that?" She said bewilderedly.

The scientist turned around and made a face like _oh_. "That's Lord Death's son, Death the Kid."

OAO…

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, being as it was the fightiest one so far. The next chapter will be adorable! So prepare yourselves, mortals, for the incredible might of my FLUFF! Bye-bye!

Also, happy birthday, **Ultimate Assassin**!:)


	22. Chapter 22

I was so excited to write this one that I started immediately after posting Chapter 21. I've never really made a really fluffy chapter before. No time like the present, though! Please review and tell me how I did. Also, I would like to thank **animedancer14** for the cover art. Thanks, bud! It's FLUFF TIME!

I don't own Soul Eater, but I would have added more romance if I did.

OAO…

 _He's a death god?!_ Samantha's mind was racing with questions at the revelation of Death the Kid. What happened the day they met made no sense. If he had the same power as Lord Death, why didn't he defend himself against the boys? If he was really a shinigami, why did he look so human? How could Lord Death even _have_ children? And her most important question, though the strangest to her, was what sort of trouble had he gotten into with kids that were stronger than him? Something about his soul radiated politeness and restraint. So why did they beat him up?

She realized she had been staring when she saw Kid looking at her. His face full of surprise and frustration, his golden eyes boring into hers with an intensity. He looked up to the older reaper, said something unreadable, and ran out of the room.

 _Great, he hates me._ Samantha then remembered that she was talking to Stein when she got distracted and snapped her head back towards him. "Sorry, Stein!"

"So how do you know him?" His face was blank, indifferent. She felt guilty for letting someone else get in the way of their conversation, quickly explaining herself and how she met the death god. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Go."

"Huh?"

"Go talk to him. Don't worry, we can talk about this later."

"No, Stein–"

"I said don't worry," he interjected. " If there's something going on, then you should work things out. Who knows? Maybe you'll become close friends. Or maybe he'll be your meister." It was silent, but he knew she hadn't moved. He opened his eyes to see an emotion Samantha had never shown him before. Disappointment.

"B-but I thought…" she whispered.

 _What did I just do?_ "Samantha, I–" she moved away from him and began running in the direction the reaper went.

"Wait!"

Stein began to chase after her when Lord Death stopped him. "Just give her a little while to cool off, Stein."

OAO…

Samantha's feet were sore from running down the endless halls of the manor. She could have switched to rockets at any time, but her heart just couldn't will her to fly. There wasn't anything else she wanted to feel. She knew if she stopped for one second she would break down.

She came to the backdoor to the courtyard and slammed it open without closing it behind her. Running down the small hill, she didn't notice the rock and tripped over it. There was grass stuck in her white hair from the fall and one of her sandals broke. She growled and swore.

"Argh! You stupid shoes!" Samantha took them both off and was about to throw them out of sight. But she couldn't. Stein bought them for her. Sitting there in the grass with her now dirty dress and broken shoe, she was no longer able to keep the tears from spilling. "Stein, you idiot." She clutched her knees to her chest and sobbed into her arms.

She felt betrayed. Alone. And very scared. Did she really have to go to the DWMA without him? Why? _I thought he would be with me! Why do I need a different partner?_

Soul didn't give any answers. She was just as hopeless right now as a normal kid. No one could help her. And that was more frightening than any witch.

Samantha stopped and looked up to take a glance at the garden. She sat in the middle of a fresh-cut lawn, the edges brimmed with red, white, and black flowers and meeting a white picket fence. A few feet in front of her stood small trees with a cobblestone path going through the middle, stretching on for less than a mile. Like they owned a little forest in their backyard. It was beautiful.

She could sense Kid's soul on the other side. Finally getting back on her feet, she removed her ponytail and shook her hair out. She began walking through the little forest, taking in the beauty of the other plants. She noticed the buds and branches on the trees were in perfect alignment with the left and right sides of the path, the grass beneath plucked of weeds and trimmed perfectly. _It must be a hassle to maintain._

At the end of the woods, the cobblestone centered and stopped around a marble fountain, grass filling the space around it. And sitting on the lip of the fountain was the reaper, fiddling with something in his hands.

Somehow Kid sensed Samantha coming and slowly lifted his head. He still seemed upset. Before he could say anything, she put up her hand to stop him. She bowed her head.

"I'm really sorry if I embarrassed you," she said. Then her eyes turned fierce. "But I couldn't just sit there and let those boys beat you up. I had to do something–"

"No, you didn't!" He yelled, getting up from his spot and throwing down what he was holding. "I'm a grim reaper, I would have been just fine!"

"How was I supposed to know that?!" She yelled right back at him.

"We both know you can sense souls!" He closed the distance between them. Samantha hadn't noticed before now that he was taller than her by half an inch. That didn't scare her. She boosted herself higher with her rocket boots.

"That doesn't change the fact that you were getting bullied!" She retorted. "You can't expect me not to help someone who's in danger. I would have done the same thing if it were your dad!"

" _Don't compare me to him!_ " He screamed. _That_ scared her a little bit, and she touched the ground again. Kid's golden eyes were glassy. He sniffled and furiously rubbed his eyes. "It's not fair," he mumbled. "Everybody does that to me. They all want me to be as strong as him, but I'm _not!_ " He straightened out, looking at Samantha. "And _you_."

"Me?"

He was in her face, making her back up. "Why are you so special? You're just a normal human! But everyone came to _my_ house to celebrate your achievement. What did I do wrong to be less symmetrical than you? Why aren't I as strong by now?!"

Kid wasn't just embarrassed. He was jealous. Samantha remembered what Lord Death had said about being stuck at the DWMA everyday. This was his _son's_ home. She barged into it. And she was being adored for her power when it should be his strength, his party, his dad. She didn't know what to say. She certainly didn't understand what he meant by "symmetrical". Why wasn't he as strong she was? Heck, shouldn't he be stronger? She looked away. "I don't know."

The reaper sighed and backed away, dejected. He looked down. "Sorry for yelling."

"What did you mean by 'symmetrical?'" She wondered aloud.

"Balance on the left and right. It's the epitome of all beauty. And you've got it in spades!" Kid pointed her out. "The way your curls are set evenly, the equal length of your bangs! And those eyes! They're so…"

She didn't know her heart was racing until he stopped talking. _What's going on with me?_ "W-what about my eyes?"

He shook his head, sitting back on the edge of the fountain. "It doesn't matter. With both symmetry and strength, I'll never be good enough. Not for my father, not for anyone."

Samantha couldn't take his moping a second longer, or his praise, for that matter. She stomped over and sat next to Kid, looking him in the eye. "What do you know about my life before my training?"

He looked confused. "Nothing, why?"

"I didn't come to the DWMA with all this skill because of Stein. Most of what I know was forced onto me. By witches."

Kid's face went pale, his eyes wide with shock. Samantha continued. "They wanted to make me a Kishin, Kid. So when I refused them, do you know what they did?" He swallowed hard, answering her question. "They beat me up."

"I didn't kn–"

"Just wait, there's a point. I didn't do this just to guilt trip you." Kid nodded his head, and she went on. "Even after all that, the stuff they put me through, I stayed strong. And I escaped. I didn't lay down and keep taking it like some dog."

Samantha stood, grabbed his hands and helped him to his feet. "You can't give up because others put you down or stand taller. Because by golly, Death the Kid, you have more potential in your pinky fingers than most guys our age will ever have! More than those dumb boys.

"And as far as symmetry goes, I don't care about how those lines don't wrap all the way around your head. You look amazing! What you were going to say about my eyes, I probably would say about yours, too. Who else can say they have golden eyes?!" She grabbed his shoulders and gave him a little shake. "You're going to be powerful one day, Kid, so don't you _ever_ put yourself down like this again. Got it?"

Kid opened and closed his mouth, unable to think of what to say. His face fell and his body shook. "No one has ever talked to me like that," he whispered. "I've never been encouraged by anyone before."

The power suit tilted the reaper's chin up. She was smiling now. "Well, you should probably expect more of it. I'm gonna cheer you on a lot as your friend."

"You're serious?" Kid staggered backward, completely bewildered.

Samantha giggled, sticking her hand out for him to take. "Count on it! I'll help you however I can!" The boy just stood there for a solid minute, unsure of her. Then she made him sure. "You're not the only one to be making their first friend, Kid. I'm new to this, too. But we'll figure it out together, okay?"

He was surprised, but then he smiled. Kid took her hand. "Yeah. Okay."

"Samantha!" The sound of Stein's shout carried through to the other side of the yard. She flicked her head in that direction.

Looking back to Kid, her face became serious. "I gotta go. But I'll be here after school on Monday, I promise."

She was just about to run when Kid stopped her. "I want to give you something. Just hold still for two seconds." The reaper went to fountain and bent down to pick up what he dropped. It was a black rose. Red crept onto the reaper's face as he stuck his arm straight out. "Here, I owe you for saving me."

Samantha was baffled, slowly taking the flower. She wouldn't admit it, but the gesture made butterflies flutter in her chest. "T-thanks, Kid."

Kid scratched the back of his head bashfully. "I guess I'll see you later then."

"Yeah… bye." She said sheepishly. Samantha slowly walked away, then running into a sprint through the woods.

OAO…

Stein was pacing through the backyard of Gallows Manor, worried about the girl who had stayed with him. Lord Death had told him what he was too ignorant to see for himself. It left him frustrated. _How could I have been so blind?_ He held on to one of her sandals, broken somehow.

He heard heavy breathing and turned his eyes to the trees. Samantha ran out of the garden and stopped at the edge. She didn't come any closer to him. She didn't speak, either. Just stared.

 _She has every right not to speak to me._ Stein glanced at Samantha's hand, holding a black rose. He tried to smile. "I guess the two of you are okay?"

"Yeah, we are. Kid's my friend now."

"That so?" _Does that mean I'm too late?_ It was just as uncomfortable as before in the party. But now Stein was more afraid than ever. The same fear she felt. _Will she leave me?_

"He's not gonna be my meister, Stein."

His face was full of surprise and relief. "Really?"

"Yeah, but I've realized something. I don't think I want any partner, really. At least, not a permanent one. As both a weapon and a meister, I think I could be flexible enough to work with anybody at any time."

"If that happens, then where will you go?"

Samantha looked at him with something like longing. "Well, I figured that…" she started, still unable to make the words come to her. _**Come on, this is what you want. Make it happen.**_ She took in a deep breath and let it out. "If I don't have to be assigned to anybody, if Lord Death lets me, then I want to stay at your house, Stein. Because for a long while now, I've thought of you as my…" She froze up. She couldn't finish. But he knew what she meant.

"... As your dad?"

Samantha gasped, then nodded slowly. She wasn't sure she was ready for what he would say next, but she stood straight like a soldier despite the fear.

"All this time, I felt the same way," Stein mumbled. Then he began to chuckle. "It was the strangest thing, too. I was afraid you wouldn't want someone like me to be your father. That you would reject me, call me crazy!" Then he burst out into laughter.

She began laughing as well. "Me, too! Man, I feel dumb! And you know what? I probably could have known in a second if I bothered to look at your soul!"

"Exactly!"

They just stood there and laughed for what seemed like ages, getting so out of breath that they flopped on the grass. Then they stared at the night sky, caught in a silence that was tranquil, for once.

After that, they went home with Spirit driving the car. He was elated when he heard the news. They arrived home and got ready for bed, just like any other night. But this time, Stein came in to kiss his daughter goodnight. As he closed the door, he heard Samantha whisper. "Night, Daddy."

He was startled, it would take a while to get used to hearing that. But he turned back and smiled at her, the most real smile he ever had. "Goodnight, Sam."

OAO…

Now, before you go running off, I really want to know how this one went. Please. Thanks, guys! Update soon! Bye-bye!


	23. Chapter 23

Sorry this took so long to come out! But we'll be getting to something awesome over the next few chapters, starting today.

I don't own Soul Eater. But if I did, there would be a movie. Please, Atsushi. Make one.

OAO…

Kid was waiting in the backyard for his new friend to come over. Samantha said she would fly there when she finished school for the day. So he kept his gaze on the blue sky. _I wonder what she wants to do._ Right then, he saw her figure coming in his direction. _Even her weapon form is symmetrical._

He was too caught up in her suit to notice how close she was getting. By the time Kid snapped back to reality, she was inches apart from his face. Samantha landed on top of the reaper with a thump, his back on the grass as she giggled on his chest. "Hey, Kid!"

"Hi," he chuckled. "How was your first day?"

She rolled off of him and sat with her legs crossed.

"Amazing. But _really_ scary. Everybody was staring at me for the first five minutes of class! They were all like, 'Oh my gosh, please be my weapon!' And I was all like, 'No thanks guys, the suit can't be tied down. You'll have to take turns.' And then they were all like, 'Man, you're so cool!' It was hilarious, Kid, you just had to be there! I was so nervous and excited at the same time, it was like the day passed by in two minutes!"

"Sounds like fun," Kid replied, sitting up with her. "But you don't want a partner?"

She shook her head. "Not a permanent one. I think teaming up with a bunch of different people will be a better learning experience. The teachers seem to agree with me." Samantha looked at him with a smile. "I was wondering if I could team up with you sometimes. Think we can try it?"

Kid sprang to his feet. "Yes, I'd love–" He stopped and looked down, remembering how successful he was in summoning Beelzebub. Nothing happened, not even a little pulse of energy. What if he couldn't fly her?

"What's wrong Kid?" She was standing in front of him now, looking him in the eye.

 _She always knows when I'm upset somehow._ "...I don't know if I can fly you, Sam."

Samantha cocked her head to the side. "How come?"

"Well… I have this ability that I should've unlocked by now, summoning the Reaper's Chariot, and it can allow me to fly. But it's not working." He looked at his opened hand. "It's supposed to come whenever I call, but it never does."

"There's probably more to it than calling its name."

"Yeah, I know. Something to do with my soul, I just don't know how to do it."

She thought for a second, recalling everything she could form with her wavelength. Symphony Cannon; the Soul Sword she used against Crona; the Witch Hunter. With a grim reaper, there were no bounds to what his soul could do. Kid just needed a little push. "How good are you at projecting your soul wavelength?"

"Pretty good, why?" He asked.

Samantha held up her palm. "This chariot thing is unique to you, isn't it? I want you to imagine putting yourself into your hand, then try calling it."

"Myself?" He was still confused, but she had a look in her eyes that said _just trust me_. Kid closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to take himself apart piece by piece in his mind and send the energy up his arm. _It's working._ He opened his eyes and called on the Chariot. "Beelzebub." Shadows burst from his palm, transforming into purple light. As it faded, it revealed what he summoned.

"A skateboard?" Samantha said, watching as Kid stood on top of it.

"Yeah, I love riding them. It makes sense that this would be its form for me," He said giddily, still unable to believe he did it. "This is so cool!"

"And it can _fly?_ "

Kid wiggled his eyebrows and grinned. "Check this out!" He figured that he could control the skateboard the same way he brought it there, and imagined his body lifting into the air. Underneath him, the wheels folded and gave way to rockets.

At first, the reaper seemed to have it all under control. But as the rockets blasted underneath him, Kid zoomed out of sight.

"Kid!" she shouted, shooting off the ground and racing to meet him.

He was riding at breakneck speed, Death City disappearing in a flash. When Samantha finally caught up– they were flying over the desert now– Kid was lying on Beelzebub with his arms and legs gripping underneath and holding on for dear life.

"Are you okay?" She said, moving in closer.

Kid shook his head quickly, not daring to move anymore. "I don't understand what went wrong!"

"Flying isn't supposed to be easy, but I'll help you. Okay?"

He nodded firmly. "How do I stop it?"

"You summoned it here, so it'll probably do whatever you say," Sam deducted. "Just tell it who's boss and to stop flying."

Kid shakily moved his limbs and sat up on the board, fingers still gripping the edge. He inhaled and exhaled. "I am your reaper and I demand that you stop!" Beelzebub came to a halt, and for a moment, they were motionless. Kid breathed a sigh of relief.

Then Beelzebub vanished. And he was falling. Kid screamed as he thought he would meet his end. But then he felt something envelope his body, and he hovered above the sand. "That was way too close!" Samantha's voice sounded like she was speaking through an earpiece. Kid felt his feet touch the ground, and he looked at his hands. They were gloved in black. His whole body was like that, he realized, with only one white line coming down each shoulder. It was almost weightless, like a second skin. Kid felt a helmet quickly form around his head, and in the glass he saw his friend's face.

"This is amazing," Kid muttered. "Sorry you had to save me again."

"No worries, it's all part of learning. Think of it this way: once you've fixed your mistakes, you'll be able to save anyone. Maybe even me!"

"You really think so?"

"Definitely!" She said. "You want me to give you a headstart?"

"What? You don't mean we're trying it again!"

"You can't give up so quickly, Kid. Besides, this will be different. Now I can guide you along! Just watch what I do."

Kid sighed, though secretly he appreciated what Sam was doing for him. He wondered if weapon partners were always so dedicated. He felt his feet getting warmer as Sam's boots gradually lifted him off the ground. "I'm using my compressed soul wavelengths to create flames," she said. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Kid gulped. At first, he seemed to be walking on air as she slowly drifted through the sky, like a leisurely stroll through the park. _Letting me get used to it_ , he figured. Suddenly they shifted, no longer upright, in a laying position better for flying, now traveling faster than a car. Overwhelmed by the speed, Kid shut his eyes.

"Kid, it's okay. See! Look how well you're doing!" He warily opened them, and they were no longer in the desert. He looked down at a lake surrounded by red hills and green plants. Kid smiled at the beauty of the landscape. He wanted to try flying on his own.

"All I have to do is shoot my wavelengths out of my feet?" Kid asked.

"Yup! You wanna take the wheel?"

He nodded. "I can do it!"

"That's the spirit!" Kid felt the suit go slack, as if she'd been holding his weight for him. He let his own energy pulse throughout his body. Not only charging the rockets, but the arm cannons, the targeting devices in the helmet, and the ear piece. It was like he was a human battery, his soul humming and his veins coursing with electricity. "I can't believe you do this everyday!" Kid exclaimed.

"It feels good, right?" She replied.

"It's wonderful," he whispered in awe. Then he let out a little laugh. "This is the most fun I've ever had!"

"Me t—" Samantha paused. Kid stopped, feeling the suit shudder. He was going to ask her what was wrong when he felt it. A powerful soul. A _witch's_ soul, heading in their direction. Kid looked at the source of the wavelength, and he too shivered in fear.

A woman donning a cloak of black feathers stopped a few feet away, flapping her giant wings to keep her in midair. Her short, dark purple hair was fluffy like down feathers. On her face was an ivory masquerade mask that formed an upper beak near her nose. Her eyes were red and her black-stained lips revealed fangs underneath. The witch grinned with hungry eyes.

"Brangwen," Sam croaked. _One of_ those _witches?_ Kid thought in shock. _The ones who tried to make her a Kishin?!_

"Ah," the witch said in a sickeningly sweet voice. "So you still remember me, then? How nice."

"How could I forget?" Sam said, suddenly furious. "You're the only one who managed to leave scars."

Brangwen chuckled. "Of course, silly me. You were always so uncooperative." It made Kid nauseous how casual she spoke, like they were two old friends. "It's a shame that Medusa couldn't get you to behave. She's usually the best at those sort of things." The witch shrugged, feigning disappointment. But then she smiled wickedly. "But now that the experiment failed, I've decided that there's no point in letting you live."

"You won't win, old crow," Sam said, despite she was still trembling. "I'm a lot stronger than before."

"I can see that. But is your meister fit to wield you?" Brangwen looked Kid dead in the eye. "Because otherwise I would rather not get into a squabble with Lord Death right now."

The reaper visibly gulped. _She knows who I am._ He then stood more erect, refusing to let Brangwen get to him. If Sam had faced this witch before, Kid was determined to help her fight. He returned her gaze. "I'm more than capable to fight you, witch." He felt the suit tense, but he didn't care. A grim reaper could easily defeat any witch, with the right expertise. There was no turning back now, anyway.

Brangwen laughed once more. "Well, you can certainly try, Young Death." With a wave of her hand, the feathers of her cloak came undone, circling around her body in wait of her orders. Kid let the energy already charged flow into his palms, the balls of blue light seeming to sing. _I can do this._

The witch made the first move. The feathers froze, then slowly turned to target Kid. She thrust her hands forward and they followed. "Quill Blade Strike!" Kid hastily dodged and deflected all the feathers he could, Sam receiving some scratches from the ones he couldn't.

"Sam, are you okay?" Kid asked.

"Concentrate!" Just as she said it the quills came back, this time as huge blades. Kid caught one in his hands and blew it up, the sparks that flew by sounding vaguely like piano music. The other blade came in too quickly and was noticed only after it grazed Kid's shoulder. He let out a pained growl.

"What else can I do?" Kid said frustratedly. "They just keep coming!"

"Don't just take one shot at a time! If shoot it more like a machine gun, you impact more energy! And once all of the quills are gone, you have to break her mask. Or else they'll just keep regenerating."

"And after that?" Kid fired at the quill blades, following her advice and roasting dozens of them.

"We'll beat her until she's down, and then use Soul Resonance."

Kid was startled by the thought. Could he really do that? Would it even work? "Don't worry about it, Kid!" Sam said. "You'll do just f–" Brangwen didn't wait for them and lunged for Kid, punching him in the jaw and sending him reeling backward. He clutched his face and glared at the witch angrily.

"I can't allow you to resonate. So I'm afraid your deaths will have to come a little quicker than anticipated." Brangwen brought her hands together and all the feathers meshed and transformed into a giant crow. "It's been fun, kiddies!"

"Oh no, you don't!" Kid yelled, pointing both his hands toward the crow and charging his beams. Somehow this shot seemed stronger than the others, larger in his desperation. In _Sam's_ anger. This villain had far too many chances to hurt her and Kid could _feel_ it. _Brangwen can't win to see tomorrow,_ they thought.

And Kid took the shot, blasting a huge hole in the crow that quickly disintegrated, revealing Brangwen with a burned face and screaming in agony. Using the distraction to his advantage, Kid zoomed in with his fist clenched and white-hot with energy. "This is for before!" He said as he punched the witch in the mouth. She was flung onto the ground.

Brangwen didn't move. Kid thought she was gone and moved closer. "Kid, _don't!_ " Sam cried. Just as she'd predicted, the witch jabbed Kid in the stomach once he was close enough. Luckily Sam provided a little extra defense, but it still hurt like crazy. He responded with a blast to the witch's chest, then holding his aching middle immediately after.

"Unless her body is gone and her soul is right in front of you, she can't be dead. Always remember that," Sam said.

"I'm sorry, that was stupid… ngh… of me. I've never… fought a witch before. It's hard."

"Yeah, I know." Sam's voice was sad. "Even so, you're doing better than my first time with her."

At that moment Kid thought of how that battle would have gone down. A much younger girl with little to no training. The trauma she must have felt. He pictured it so clearly be wanted to throw up. _You're the only one who managed to leave scars._

"But you can't let what's happened discourage you." Kid's eyes flicked to her image in the glass of the helmet. Sam's eyes were filled with ferocity. "After all, that's how I've been able to live so long. You'll find soon enough that perseverance is my guiding principle." She smiled.

 _How she does that, I'll never know._ He nodded, focusing on Brangwen. She was down, but could pick herself up if they didn't do something. "If we're going to resonate, we have to do it now," Kid concluded. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah!"

"Let's go, Soul Resonance!" They let their souls collide and sync with each other, building up for the big move. It was a vastly different experience from resonating with Stein or Spirit. Not just their personal feelings that rushed through Sam, but the strange reaper energy Kid passed on was unlike the human partners she'd come to know.

His wavelength felt good, like sunbathing or laying on a giant blanket fresh from the dryer. So inviting. And Kid loved Sam's feeling, the way he could hear a comforting song playing on a piano.

They knew what to do. Kid needed to charge his cannons and synchronize them with the song. Then Brangwen would be blown away. History. That was the technique power suits were known for. _The Death Song._

Kid let the combined energy of him and Sam flow into his palms, forming into crackling blue balls larger than his head. He let them grow until they couldn't withstand anymore. And he fired in tempo with the song, more than a dozen times.

Once the smoke cleared, he landed on the ground expecting to see Brangwen's soul or— hopefully not— a body still there. What they found was neither. She had fled.

 _Impossible!_ Kid saw the suit glow and Sam turned back into a human, stomping off to sit by a red boulder. He slowly walked over to join her, holding his still hurting shoulder. Sitting down, he saw that they'd been hit in the same places. Sam didn't seem to care about it though, despairing over something.

"I'm sorry she got away," Kid said.

Sam shook her head. "It's not that," she whispered, looking at the sky. "I expect as much from her. Just… I really thought it was over. I thought I was _free._ I knew I couldn't be normal, but I tried to find a purpose against the witches. Only that's impossible."

"You don't know that. After what happened today, she wouldn't dare—"

"It's not just Brangwen. If she knew where to find me, that means all of them could come looking. And they won't stop until I become a Kishin."

"Whatever happened to that perseverance stuff you were talking about?" Kid replied. "From what I can tell, you've never cared what _they_ wanted. You fought and got to where you wanted to be, done what you wanted to do. Don't tell me you'll quit now just 'cause you're tired!"

"You don't even know how many there are, Kid!" Sam retorted, turning to face him. "Not to mention all the the familiars at their beck and call. You expect me to fight them all?" She put her head in her knees. "I can't do this on my own."

Kid stood there looking down at her for a while. He understood her stress. While he was training, Kid felt like no one was there to really help him along. Not even his father. He put his hand on Sam's shoulder. "Look, I don't know a lot about witches, but… I really want to help you."

Sam flicked her head up at him. "What?"

"Yeah, if I'm learning the same things you are, then there's no reason I can't help you fight. I am one of your partners, after all."

Sam stood up, grinning from ear to ear. Then she squeezed him. "You're my best friend, Death the Kid!"

"Y-you're mine, too, Sam," Kid said breathlessly. Sam giggled and released him, only to change back into a suit and fly him back to the manor.

OAO… _Present day_

Samantha Stein and Death the Kid were on their way to the lair of a witch. The two hoped this would be the last witch they had to face. It would, however, be a lot easier to handle now that they were older and more experienced.

The suit flew beside the reaper, who had matured very well over the years, physically and mentally. Kid's soul was so much stronger than their first battle. He'd become more independent, more agile in battle, and tactful. And now there was no doubt in Samantha's mind that he would be ready to take Lord Death's place if need be. He had a sort of leader type of feel about him, almost regal.

She could recognize better now that Kid didn't need protection. And she had changed as well, much to Kid's surprise. Sam seemed to carry herself higher than she used to, like she wasn't afraid anymore. That made Kid smile. He looked ahead and paused. They were close to some abandoned ruins.

"What is it?" Sam asked, stopping with him.

"I can feel her soul," Kid replied. "The lair isn't far off."

She nodded. "Brangwen is here."

OAO…

Reviews, if you please! I'm going to try to get Chapter 24 out this week. See you later!


	24. Chapter 24

If you wish to skip this author's note, you may, because I'm going to list out all the followers that I have not thanked properly yet. Without further adieu, thank you *inhales deeply to get it all out in one go*, **ReynicoCaleo502, ynius, stephserna97, sethandmeri, Kurapedia, awsomeangel200, Sandile's Darkness, Merad11101, Makenzie Robison, , EvilQueen16, Ryokocosmos, RoguishNinja500, WeirdySpeck, Shizuka Taiyou, PercabethRaven, marcelineandbonnie, and shadowoffandoms3947.** WHOO! I'm sorry I didn't get to that before! With the ones I've already said, I have 28 followers! 28?! Jeez! I love you guys. Keep on being awesome. Let's go!

I don't own Soul Eater, since I clearly don't own a bento box or a kimono.

OAO _...Present day_

They landed on the roof of a temple in the center of the ruins. Brangwen's wavelength could be sensed from there. Kid made Beelzebub vanish and Samantha searched for an entrance. She found a slab of stone and lifted it to reveal a hole. Under closer inspection, there was a ladder leading down into the black abyss.

Kid went first, sliding down to the bottom floor with Samantha trailing behind. She lit up her hand and the room came into perspective. From the looks of it, they were standing in a banquet hall. Fifty or so tables with linen cloths laid on top had an extra blanket of dust and cobwebs. There were even some places of rotten food left around, as if the party just up and disappeared. The room smelled musty. Kid went to put a hand up to his nose when he saw Samantha walk over to one of the tables.

She pulled up the tablecloth and smiled. "Check this out," She said. Kid looked under the table, seeing what she meant. Samantha had carved a drawing underneath. It was her roasting a bird over a campfire. _Must be Brangwen_ , Kid thought.

There was a huge entrance at the end of the banquet hall, leading down a long corridor. Samantha reached her unlit hand over to Kid's, who gripped it firmly. "You can close your eyes until we get to the lab, if you want. It's really unorderly along this way," she warned.

"No thanks. If anything, I'll be more anxious to fight her knowing how disgusting this place is."

Samantha nodded, then looked ahead. The two slowly walked down the hall, occasionally stepping on broken glass and passing a few raven statues. The walls were covered in black feathers, as if a bird had exploded in there. Which was highly probable. Some of the doors to other rooms were open, showing a training area, a pantry, some bedrooms, and a cell. At the sight of the small prison, Kid turned away. He didn't want to imagine Samantha in there.

Kid stopped when he heard something at the end of the hall. He turned to Samantha and pressed a finger to his lips. They stood quietly to listen for it again. A few seconds passed and they heard the sound. Flapping wings. Giant flapping wings.

They looked to each other and nodded. Samantha transformed and Kid ran to the end of the hall, coming to stand next to the door. He charged the arm cannons and took a deep breath. "Are you ready, Kid?" Samantha asked.

"Yeah. Let's do it." Kid moved in front of the door. And in one swift motion, he kicked it down. He stood there, ready to shoot at the witch before him. Brangwen hadn't aged since the last battle, save for the scar on her face from when Kid shot her. She looked surprised, but the shock quickly turned into amusement.

"My, my," she said. "Look how big you've gotten, Death. And so _brave_ , coming all the way from the city just to see me. Come on, girl, I want to see you, too."

"You won't have the chance, old crow," Samantha replied. "Kid's gonna blow you away and that'll be the end of all your plans. You and the rest of that band of witches."

"So Ursula is dead, then?" Brangwen went on, unphased by Samantha's threat. "Pity. Yes, I suppose that means you're correct. I'm the lone survivor of the group who created you."

The witch sighed and leaned back against the wall. "All that time and you hadn't swallowed a single human soul." She held up her hands in surrender. "If you've come to kill, then get it over with already."

Kid was taken aback by this. She was still capable of fighting the two of them, still wishing that her goal be achieved. But the witch wouldn't engage with them. "Is there any reason you aren't going to fight?" Kid asked.

"Why do you ask? Do you want to be rid of me or don't you?"

"I'd be more than happy to rid the world of one more evil. But not right this second. I don't trust you, Brangwen. All you wanted to do when we first met is kill me and Sam. You lost. Even if not for your plans, you should want to kill us for revenge. There's a bigger reason for you wanting us to kill you and slip away." Kid's voice became dark. "If you don't tell me what that reason is, you'll live to wish I had killed you."

"Well, if it bothers you so badly," Brangwen said, lowering her hands. "Once again, you're correct, Death. This was the opportunity of a lifetime, to create our very own spawn of madness. The pinnacle of my career. But as they say, all good things must come to an end."

"What do you mean?" Samantha interrupted, suddenly curious herself.

Brangwen stifled a little laugh. "Honestly, girl. Did you really think you could live as long as a normal human? Live out your little fantasy with Prince Charming by your side? None of those things were meant for you. And you aren't built to live much longer."

In a flash of light, Samantha turned back and walked closer to the witch, standing a few feet away from her. "You're _lying_." Kid remembered back to the abandoned lab and that Samantha thought this was a possibility. _There's stuff I don't know, like how long I'll live or what more I could do to hurt you._

"It wasn't intentional, really," Brangwen said. "But the thing about your mind and body is that they already have identities of their own. Being part of you conflicts all that. And even though they don't know it, they crave to have control of the nearest soul." She gestured to Samantha. "Soon they'll have just what they're so hungry for. And they'll tear you apart in the process."

"Shut your mouth!" Samantha said, shooting the witch in the abdomen. "You're a liar! You've _always_ been a liar! Trying to scare me and torture me all those years. I won't let you get away with it!"

"But why would I lie…" Brangwen paused, coughing up blood. "when the truth is so much fun?"

Samantha snapped, screaming and taking multiple shots at her. Even once she'd died and her soul appeared before them, Samantha kept on blindly attacking the purple orb. Kid couldn't watch this. He ran to her side and shook her. "Samantha, stop!"

She flinched, her eyes wide and body trembling. Samantha slowly turned her head to Kid. "It's over. She's dead," Kid assured her.

"What she said can't be true," she cried, gripping his shirt. "It _can't_ be! There's no way!"

"Sam." Kid put his hand on her cheek. "Listen to me. I'm not going to let you die. We'll figure something out. We always do."

"How?! I can't live without Soul or Maka! How do we change that? There isn't even any way of knowing how long I have."

"I am a grim reaper. I can do almost anything I set my mind to. And if I have to save you, I will. Just have faith in me." Samantha still had doubts, but she nodded anyway. "Don't give up so quickly, Sam. I won't let this happen."

She gave him a said smile, then let it drop when she stood. Kid followed suit and they made their way out of the temple. Brangwen's soul was left behind.

OAO… _Two hours later_

Kid wore Samantha the rest of the way back to her house. He knew how much she needed the support. When they made it to the front lawn, she remained a weapon for a moment longer.

"What do I tell my dad?" She whispered.

"The truth, ugly as it is," Kid replied. "After the last time you left, I'm sure hiding the fact would only hurt him more."

"Right." Samantha turned back in a human. She stared at the ground and sighed. "I never get a moment of peace. Then again, what did I expect?"

"Don't say that kind of stuff. You don't look good when you mope," Kid said smiling, causing her to have the same reaction. "I know what those people did to you, but they're dead now. All of them. You don't have to be scared by them anymore. We only have one trial left before you can call it quits."

Samantha nodded and hugged him. Kid hugged right back, holding and kissing her white hair. "I love you, Samantha Stein."

"I love you back, Death the Kid." She let go and watched as Kid flew out into the night sky.

When Samantha got inside, she saw her father sleeping on the couch. _What am I going to do with you?_ She lifted him up and carried him into bed. He mumbled something under his breath like, "Glad you're home."

Samantha kissed him on the forehead and removed his glasses, setting them on the night table. "Work late again and I'll have to start putting tranquilizers in your dinner," she muttered in the sincerest tone possible.

Stein smiled tiredly with his eyes still closed. Samantha tiptoed out the door and quietly shut it. She went into her room and quickly closed her eyes, venturing into her soul.

She woke up in her typical party gown and stood closer to the piano where Soul sat. _Did you know about this, Soul?_

 _ **No, it surprised me, too,**_ he said.

 _Then you have no idea how to stop it?_

 _ **I only know that your survival depends on us staying here.**_

 _No kidding!_ She said sarcastically. _Next you're going to tell me Excalibur is a lamo of undeterminable species!_

 _ **Calm down, it's not cool when you get all angry like this. You can't think straight this way.**_

Samantha grunted, then sighed. She slumped down in the chair nearby. _You're right, sorry._

 _ **I know how bad this is. Scared the crap out of Maka, that's why you kept shooting Brangwen over and over. But this isn't the time to worry yourself about it. It's late, you need to rest. We can spend all day tomorrow working to stop it, but for now you need a break.**_

 _Yeah… ok._

She was back in her own room again. Samantha got out of bed and went to the bathroom for her nightly routine. Washing her face subconsciously, she reached for the hand towel to dry off. Then she looked in the mirror.

At the sight she almost screamed. Samantha's eyes were red and her teeth were jagged. She blinked hoping it would go away. It didn't.

 _Soul, what's going on?!_

 _ **I don't know!**_

They were at a loss. Samantha didn't want to running back to Kid right now. But who else could help her? Then she remembered. _Of course!_ She ran to into her bedroom and flew out the window.

OAO…

Soul lazily flicked the page of the book he was reading. There was a test right around the corner and with Maka's pleading, he finally decided to study. _She's lucky I think she's hot._

This unit was on creatures bonded by souls. It wasn't entirely boring and Soul found he could almost pay attention. Something in the next chapter caught his eye.

 _Spirit animals were first discovered by Native Americans. It is said their traits are directly related to the person whose soul is linked to them. These creatures can sometimes serve as a guide or protector for their person in times of need. However, this has occurred very rarely for humans._

Soul gazed at the corner of the page where there was a picture. It was a kitten with some magical power twisting around it. "That's weird," he said, looking closer. "Kinda looks like Blair."

Suddenly, Soul heard a rap at the window. He glanced over to see Samantha floating with her helmet on. The glass was slightly tinted so he couldn't see her eyes. _What is she doing here so late?_

"Meet me on the roof," she said, flying up to the top.

Soul shrugged and put on some slippers. He walked out of the apartment and down the hall to the stairwell. When he reached the roof, he shuddered at the cold. "What was so important she couldn't wait til morning?" He muttered under his breath.

Samantha sat next to the railing, standing up when she saw Soul. He walked over to her and raised an eyebrow. "So what's this about?"

In a flash the helmet disappeared and she opened her eyes. Soul gasped when he saw his own red pupils staring back at him. "What happened?" He asked.

"I don't know! I looked in the mirror and they were red! And my teeth…" Samantha showed him her shark-like pearly whites. Soul simply stood in shock. "What am I going to do?" She asked.

"Wait, you came here 'cause you thought _I'd_ know what to do? What gave you that idea?"

"Well, my Soul doesn't know how to fix this. I figured the real deal would!"

"Maka's the smart one in real life, not me!"

Samantha groaned and put her face in her hands. Soul didn't know how to help her. He tried to sympathize with her, really, but no one every came to him for stuff like this. "Why is this bothering you so bad anyway? This has happened before, right?"

"No, never," she said.

"But Blackstar said he saw your eyes turn red after the fight."

"What?!" Samantha looked up. "You're serious?"

"Yeah, when he grabbed your arm and you were angry."

 _This thing already started that long ago?_ "What are you so worried about?" Soul interrupted her thoughts, having gotten closer to her face. Samantha would tell him, but this wasn't the time. She just wanted herself back to normal first.

"Look, Soul," she said. "I promise I'll tell you and everyone else tomorrow. But for now, I just want my eyes and teeth back. Please help me."

Soul sighed and dropped the subject, concentrating on her face. "Maybe… if you think about Maka, you'll change back."

"Ok, I'll try." Samantha closed her eyes for a few seconds, pictured the scythe meister in her head, and then opened them again. "Did it work?"

"Uh, well…" Soul scratched his head, looking sheepish. "Your eyes and teeth are fixed."

"But?" She stared at him intently.

"But you're hair is sandy, now." Samantha inspected her hair, now turned blonde. Soul waved his hands frantically, seeing her distress. "Don't freak out! I shouldn't have said think about Maka. Just think about what you're supposed to look like!"

Samantha hastily obeyed and her hair slowly turned white again from the root to the tip. When she opened her eyes, they remained green. Soul breathed a sigh of relief and patted her shoulder. "You're good."

"Thank you," she said. "I'm sorry I stressed you out."

"It's fine. No one's ever really asked me for advice." Soul sat on the floor and put his hands behind his head. "I still don't get how I turned out to be your mind."

Samantha sat down next to him. "I wouldn't know."

Soul looked at her with curiosity. Now that he had been inside her soul, he wondered what the alternate version of him was like. "What am I like? In you, I mean."

"Just about as witty as the real you. But he's got some kind of wisdom about him. He can be wrong a lot, too. I never blamed him, though. And the way you play the piano…" Samantha looked up at the sky dreamily. "I'll never get tired of it."

"And that one bad memory?" Soul looked at her with guilt.

"Well, I would get mad about it sometimes. But I know what you were trying to do. You were warning me."

"But you ended up in a prison because of it!"

"That wasn't your idea," she said. "I chose to surrender to Ursula by myself. You hated it from the start, thought I should fight her. But I didn't want to take the risk of losing my family. That was the only time I didn't listen to you, it's my own fault I was stuck there."

Soul was silent. All this time he thought it was him to blame for her actions. He felt a little weight lifting off of his chest. "I thought me and Maka were in charge of everything you do."

"You're right, for the most part it's true. But I have a voice of my own." Samantha stood, then looked at the ground with something like regret. "Hopefully I'll get to keep it along with my soul," she whispered.

"What was that?" Soul asked, standing up next to her.

Samantha shook her head. "Nothing. Thanks for everything, Soul."

"No problem, see ya." And Soul walked back inside.

"Yeah, probably." Samantha flew back home, knowing she would need the rest for the next day.

OAO…

Reviews, please! See you soon!


	25. Chapter 25

I bet that last one had you dying for what comes next. Suffer no more, my friends! Chapter 25 is here! Here we go! And you for following, **LoneWolf121** , **Awesomeness7474** , **AnimeFreak132002** , and **navybluebookworm.**

I don't own Soul Eater. Insert clever witty joke.

OAO… _they're hard to come up with_

Gallows Manor was almost completely quiet, save for the living room where two sisters watched TV. Well, Liz was watching TV. The younger of the two, Patty, had already dozed off next to the eldest sister. At first, they were both determined to stay awake until their meister came home, but Liz knew Patty wouldn't last long.

 _Why am I even doing this?_ Liz thought to herself. She had been worried that Kid would get hurt on the mission with his girlfriend, so she stayed awake in case he needed help. _But Samantha would never let any witch hurt a hair on his head. They'd probably have to kill her first. After all, she_ loves _him._

Liz was still finding that difficult to accept. And even though she knew for a fact that Sam's relationship with Kid could never come between Liz being one of his weapons, it didn't hurt any less that there was someone other than herself and Patty.

Suddenly she heard a key turn in the lock of the door and sprang to her feet. When Kid entered, Liz expected Samantha to be coming in behind him. But she was nowhere to be found. The weapon almost smiled, repressing it when she saw her meister's face.

Kid looked miserable. Like broken-heart miserable. _Did something happen to Sam?_ He turned to look at his partner and his expression softened. "What are you still doing up?" he asked flatly.

"We– well, I– was staying awake until you got here. In case you needed my help or something. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Liz. Get to bed." He rushed his words and turned to the staircase. Kid was only halfway up when his weapon called out, "You're lying." He stopped in his tracks but didn't look her in the eye.

"I've been your partner for a long time, Kid," Liz continued, walking to the base of the stairs. "I know when something's wrong with you. What's so bad that you can't tell me?"

When Kid didn't respond, Liz made a guess. "Did you guys kill the witch?"

"Yeah," Kid said. "We did."

"Then what's wrong?"

Kid turned around. "I swear, I'll tell you tomorrow with everyone else."

"Tomorrow isn't good enough for me!" Liz shouted. "Me and Patty didn't get to go with you, the least you can do is tell me what happened. You can't just abandon us now that your girlfriend came back!" She immediately covered her mouth with both hands.

The grim reaper's face was unreadable. Liz felt horrible just as she said it. _I know he's always going to be my meister, but…_

"Why on earth would I do that?" Kid replied, his voice angry. She saw him clench his fists at his sides. "I saw what your life was like before, remember? You and Patty lived on the streets without a home, without food, and without anyone but yourselves! You're saying _I_ would condemn you to that again?" Liz stood silently, avoiding her meister's burning gaze. "Well, I wouldn't. To either of you or Sam. I especially can't leave her now because–" His voice cracked at the last word, and Liz looked back up at Kid, who was covering his eyes with one hand.

"Because of what?" Liz asked. Kid wouldn't speak. She ran up the stairs and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Because of _what_ , Kid?" she repeated.

He looked at her with glassy eyes. "Because I don't know how long she has left," Kid croaked.

Liz's eyes widened and her hands slowly lowered. "What?" she whispered.

"Just before Brangwen died, she said that the Soul and Maka inside Sam would fight for control over her soul, and that she would be ripped apart in the process."

"Kid…" She was about to wrap him up in a hug, but she heard her sister shift on the couch. Patty looked up at them curiously and rubbed an eye.

"Sis, just let Kid go," she said, much to the surprise of both of them. "He needs to figure out what to do to fix Sam. If you two don't resolve this, think about our resonance with him. It could go all out of whack."

Patty hated to be serious just much as Liz did. But she knew this was the time for it. She only hoped this whole thing would end quickly. Airhead was her lifestyle and she liked it that way.

"Liz." At her name, she turned back to Kid. "I'm sorry I made you feel this way. And I promise to make up for it. But Patty's right and Sam is depending on me for a solution."

Kid began to climb up the stairs when Liz grabbed his wrist. "You're going to need our help if you want an answer for her tomorrow. That's what partners are for, right?"

The reaper smiled. "Right."

OAO… _the next day_

It was noontime at the academy and the cafeteria was crowded with students. The assassin Blackstar had his feet propped up on the table and his arms behind his head, feeling especially good today. He planned on talking Sam's ear off with questions on yesterday's mission with Kid. Then he would ask her for some training so when he wanted a rematch, he'd beat her. _The brightest star needs the best teacher. And then I'll surpass her!_ Blackstar grinned wildly with the promise of success.

Slowly his friends all joined him. He smiled when Tsubaki sat next to him, proceeded by Soul and Maka. When they moved into each other's arms, Blackstar stuck out his tongue in disgust. He was quick to cover his head when he saw Maka take a book from her bag.

Then came the reaper and his twin pistols, of whom sat on either side of him. Blackstar frowned when he didn't see Sam braced to Kid's arm. "Kid, where's your girlfriend at?"

Kid looked at him confusedly. "You mean you haven't seen her?" he asked.

"Nope," the ninja replied.

"Why? What's wrong?" Soul cut in. He knew this was coming before everyone else. Now he was going to get some answers.

Kid was hesitant to speak, he really wanted to tell them all with Sam. _I suppose I have to start without her._ "We found out something yesterday. It's not good."

All eyes were on him as he told the story, beginning to end. "When we found the witch, Brangwen, she was ready to die. She didn't even try to fight us. I asked her why she would give up like that. She confessed that working with Sam was the highest point of her job, but that 'all good things must come to an end.' Brangwen told us that Sam doesn't have very long left to live."

"That can't be right!" Blackstar jolted up out of his seat.

"That's exactly where Sam questioned her, too," Kid said. "Brangwen said that because Soul and Maka already have their own identities, they'd want their own soul. And that they'll tear Sam apart to get it."

"Have you been doing anything about it?!" Blackstar shouted, pounding a fist on the table.

"I was working late last night to find a way to fix it, even asking my father for advice. While there are no witches left from the original group, there is one living descendant. A daughter of one of the scientists. Do you guys remember that one witch who served under Medusa?"

Blackstar sat back down, still not over the anger and shock but willing to cooperate. "The frog lady, right? She and the werewolf dude injected the black blood into the Kishin and revived him."

Kid nodded. "Her name is Eruka Frog. She isn't that good of a fighter, kind of cowardly. With just the right amount of force, we could make her fix Sam."

"And if she doesn't know how to do that?" Maka cut in.

"I have another plan if this one fails. For now, we should go to where Eruka has been hiding. Do you know where Crona is? I was hoping he could come since he knew her."

Right as he said it, the pink-haired boy came racing towards them. He was out of breath and wide-eyed.

"Crona, what's wrong?" Maka asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Stein's house… Samantha… _hurry!_ "

OAO…

Kid flew through the front door and skidded to a halt when he didn't immediately see who he was looking for. He turned to Crona, his face desperate. "Where is she?"

As soon as the rest of the students were inside, they heard the sound of glass shattering in the kitchen. They all rushed in and froze at the sight. Samantha had Stein pinned to the floor and was poised to strike, her eyes were red and her shark teeth were drawn into a snarl.

"Sam, don't!" Kid shouted.

She flicked her head in his direction. For a moment, her face didn't lose its intensity, as if she didn't know who he was. When she remembered, her eyes and teeth went back to normal, her gaze softened. "Kid…" Samantha said. Then her eyes widened when she realized what she was doing. She looked down at who she thought was her opponent. "Daddy!"

Quickly getting off of him, Samantha backed over to the wall, placing a hand on her forehead. _What on earth did you make me do?_

Stein got up slowly, still dazed and a little confused. "Thanks for the help, Crona," he said. He cleared his throat and was about to ask what was going on, but then he saw Soul march in front of Samantha and grab her by the shirt. " _Why didn't you tell me?!_ " He yelled. "We could have prevented this from ever happening if you just let me in on it!"

"No, we couldn't!" she yelled right back. "You told me yourself, Soul, you wouldn't know how to fix me! And it's not like Kid could go any faster in finding a solution if I told him I was… malfunctioning. All I would accomplish would be making you both miserable. You know how much I hate making people feel bad!" Samantha ripped Soul's hands off her. "I'm not stupid. It just wasn't the time or place."

Soul growled but backed down, crossing his arms and looking away. His eyes found Kid, who didn't look remotely angry that he hadn't been told about last night, slightly relieved, really. _Knowing him, he probably predicted this would happen,_ Soul thought. _That, or he's just happy Sam's safe. For now, at least._

"So, it's true what Kid said, then?" Blackstar piped up, making his way to Samantha. "Your soul is falling apart?"

She nodded slowly, trying to avoid her father's gaze. She didn't want to think about the shock and sadness he must feel. But as Samantha averted her eyes to Blackstar, she found it was just as hard to look at her friend.

"I won't let that happen! I _refuse!_ " he shouted. "I am the Great Blackstar and I don't give you the permission to die! How am I supposed to surpass you if you're dead? As your rival and your friend, I won't let you disappear! Got it?!"

Samantha couldn't help but smile at him. "Yeah, I get it." She looked at the reaper. "Did you find something?"

Kid nodded. "We can leave when you're ready."

She gave him the same reply and walked over to Stein, taking his hands. "I'm sorry for what happened, Daddy," she said.

"It's alright."

"I promise I'll explain on the way. But for now, could you be my meister again?"

"Yeah. Where are we headed?"

They both looked to Kid, who promptly responded with, "To Eruka Frog."

OAO…

I hope you enjoyed! I'll update soon, and I'd love some reviews. See ya!


	26. Chapter 26

Happy summer vacation! Here's chapter 26! Thanks to **Redangel14** , **Silverfox4242564** , **lilmissy21** , **.Geek** , **Princess2342** , , **shinigamigymnast** , and **ChaosStorm** for following Death Suit. On we go!

I don't own Soul Eater because I couldn't have possibly conceived such a good show.

OAO…

They'd just arrived at their destination: the supposed hiding place of the witch, Eruka. It was a large, dark cave with water dripping from the ceiling. At the head of the group was Kid leading the way with a lantern in one hand. Samantha walked next to him, silent.

"Are you mad at me?" she whispered.

"Of course not. I expected something like that to happen." Kid sighed. "I just wish it didn't come so soon. Wish we had more time."

"I know."

"But we'll fix this," he said with determination. "And once we do, you won't have to hide anything from anyone again. You'll know you don't have to be alone."

"How can you be so confident everything will work out?" Samantha asked outright.

"I learned it from watching you, remember? You ought to take your own advice."

She looked at him in surprise and then smiled. "You're right."

"If anything, though, you've probably upset Soul."

"Yeah," Samantha said, looking behind her at the scythe. His eyes were downcast.

"Go on, then," Kid nudged her.

"Love you."

"Love you, too."

She walked next to Soul, who still stared at his feet. When he didn't acknowledge her, she just walked quietly. Samantha wasn't really sure what to say.

"I was a little over the top," he admitted, still not looking at her. "And I know you're just trying to keep cool despite what's happening. I do that a lot, too. Sorry."

Samantha knew exactly what he meant by that. _He thinks he made me keep it a secret._ "My Soul has been doing anything he can to not take control since he found out," she said. "It was my own decision not to tell you. Not like it would be _your_ fault, anyway. I'm not you, Soul. I won't ever be you."

"You could be."

"But I won't. Believe it."

Soul looked at her incredulously. "I'll try, I guess," he sighed.

Suddenly all the meisters stopped in their tracks. They could feel Eruka's familiar wavelength. The weapons transformed and were wielded by their meisters, ready for battle.

They slowly walked through the shadows, Kid gripping the lantern as Liz held Patty as a gun in her hand. The reaper just couldn't stand being asymmetrical.

The sound of a small animal hopping around came closer and closer. Kid kneeled to the ground, set the lantern down, and crept quietly crept near the sound. "Aha! Gotcha!" he proclaimed as he snatched the frog. "Get the jar, hurry!"

"Let me go! Let me go!" Eruka yelled as she wriggled in Kid's hands. No sooner than she was caught was she imprisoned in glass. "How did you know I was here?"

"None of your business, tadpole!" Blackstar said.

"If you don't let me out of here right now, I'll—"

"You'll what? You can't use magic when you're in animal form. And if you try to turn back, the glass will rip your little body to shreds."

The witch saw the hopelessness of her situation and began pleading. "Spare me, please! I don't wanna die! I finally got away from Medusa and the snakes she put in my body disappeared! I don't want anymore trouble. Ribbit!"

"That's good to hear," Kid said.

"What?"

"I don't know about everyone else, I'm actually still mad about your involvement with the Kishin's revival. But we're not here to kill you. If you can help us, my father has promised to drop all charges with you."

"And if not?" Eruka asked.

"Stein needs some more frogs for the class to dissect," Kid said. Stein smiled wickedly behind him.

Eruka gulped nervously. "What sort of help would you need me for?"

"Your mother helped create Samantha, correct?"

"Samantha? You mean the power suit? Yeah, why?"

"As you probably already know, she's coming undone. We need to fix her."

The frog thought about this for a moment. "If we head deeper into the cave, I have some books that might be able to help."

Kid handed the jar to Blackstar and picked up the lantern, venturing once more into the darkness. "You better be telling the truth," Blackstar said. "Or else I'll have your legs served as an appetizer."

OAO… _a few minutes later_

Eruka's jar had been set down on a rock, and she began to explain the conception of Samantha's soul from a book. "Now normally clones are only constructed by small pieces of DNA, that way they would be physically the same as their original counterpart, at least visually. But this group wanted to go above and beyond to make the suit strong, so the psychic witch that told the future reached forward in time and copied the souls of the weapon and the meister.

"They were then split in halves and meshed together with the opposite pieces while the rest was destroyed. Just before she was born, the power suit DNA was added to the mix.

"The witches didn't care about what would happen to a soul with different owners. They only wanted the suit to be a means of spreading the madness, and if she didn't last long would quickly proceeded by Ashura after his awakening."

Eruka snickered. "Honestly, the one thing she didn't predict was the success of her plan. If she had, you would have never come to be here today. A bunch of old cronies, if you ask me."

Kid ignored her rambling and flipped to the next page for her. No one else could read the witch writing. "Does it say anything about undoing the pieces?"

"No— wait, wait, yes! There's a little bit, but it isn't very specific."

"Anything helps. What does it say?"

"The author says, 'I've never managed to achieve it for myself, but if I were to dive in, all would be clear.' Not sure what that means. That's it."

"Great, what now?" Kid pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Sam," Blackstar said. "What about that machine back at the abandoned lab? Couldn't it help?"

"No, that thing was only meant to keep my body functional until I woke up. Besides, it's long past _**broken**_ —" Samantha covered her mouth with both hands at the last word. That wasn't her voice.

"What's wrong?"

" _ **I don't know!**_ " She said, Soul's voice coming out of her mouth. " _ **It won't change back!**_ "

"She's getting worse," Kid muttered. He put both his hands on the jar and shook it. "There's got to be something!"

"Cut that out! I can't think if you scramble my brain!" Eruka shouted.

 _Dive in_ , Maka thought. _All will be clear._

"That's it!" she shouted. "We just go back inside Samantha and we'll find out how to fix her."

"Why didn't I think of that?" Kid slapped himself upside the head.

" _ **Wait, guys!**_ " Samantha said. " _ **If my soul is falling apart then there's a chance you won't come back! I can't let you risk that**_."

"We're not doing to get trapped inside you, Sam," Soul said. "It'll be fine. We'll be in and out before you know it. What could possibly happen to us?"

" _ **That's what everyone says before something bad happens!**_ " She was close to ripping her hair out at the sound of her voice shifting between Maka and Soul at every other word.

"Sam, listen. Not ten minutes ago, you were telling me to brave. If you want to have the peace you've always looked for, you have to believe, too."

Samantha stared at him, then smirked. " _ **Promise not to die?**_ "

Soul nodded with a shark-toothed grin. Slowly all the weapons and meisters sat down in a circle and held hands. Samantha dived back into her consciousness, but this time she had friends following her in.

OAO…

Just like before, Maka was the last to wake up inside the blood room. Or, at least, what was _supposed_ to be the blood room. It was to be expected that it would be different, but the change was so drastic you could hardly tell what it used to look like. The students were floating in a black abyss, chunks of the blood room's tiled floor drifting around. A few yards away was what remained in tact, almost like an island in the sky. Light radiated off the giant soul in the center, flashing orange and blue.

 _That's where Soul and I are,_ Maka concluded. She looked around, her friends surrounding her body and staring. _I forgot you can read other people's minds in here._ "Where's Samantha?" she asked aloud.

"Over there," Soul said, pointing to the island. "Where she always is."

"Right. Let's go," she said. They nodded and followed Maka, half swimming through the blackness and half jumping across the rubble. When they set foot on the island, the gravity became normal. "What's the plan?" Blackstar asked.

"Once we find Samantha again, we'll know how to undo this," Kid answered. "We may have to find a way to separate her Soul and Maka entirely."

 _ **I'm afraid that's not going to happen.**_ They heard a voice, echoey and daunting. But it was neither Soul's nor Maka's. "I'd know that voice anywhere," Soul growled.

The source of the voice crept out of the shadows, towering above the students. It was the demon that haunted Soul's mind, somehow larger even after the last encounter when he shrank. "How did you get here?" Soul asked.

The demon still smiled, but he tilted his head to the side in mock curiosity. _**Have we met before? No, wait! You must be the**_ **real** _**Soul Evans. How did**_ **you** _ **get here is the better question.**_

"What are you guys talking about? Who is he?" Tsubaki asked.

"He's supposed to be my madness," Soul said.

 _ **Your madness?**_ The demon laughed. _**Silly boy, you've got it all wrong. I've been here forever. You see, I'm**_ **her** _**madness.**_

"Samantha?" Kid muttered.

 _ **That's right, Reaper Boy.**_

"But that can't be!"

 _ **Can't it? Well, I suppose that you wouldn't expect it from such a sweet girl. But the fear she harbours inside of her day by day is what made me possible.**_ He began circling around them. _**It's rather tragic, paranoia eating her from the inside out. All that time spent worrying about her father, her weapon, her lover, Samantha never once realized what that fear was doing to her. Strengthening her madness. And to think that all it took was one bad memory to fuel it all.**_

"You did this! You made her this way!" Soul yelled.

 _ **Indeed I did,**_ the demon said. _**And as you've probably already guessed, I'm not just going to sit by as you try to foil my plans. If you want to save your friend…**_ Suddenly flames burst around him, surrounding his entire body. When they receded, the students gasped at his appearance, morphed to look like Samantha. " _ **You're going to have to kill me first,**_ " he said in her voice.

"Liz, Patty," Kid said. They transformed into pistols and landed upside down in his hands, the other weapons following behind. "You'll pay for using her image so blatantly!"

" _ **Will I? So you're going to hit your girlyfriend?**_ "

" _I won't fall for that!_ " He roared as shot a barrage of bullets at the demon, all of them deflected.

Maka took the opportunity to strike while he was distracted, swinging with all her might. At the last second the demon flipped backward and spun, dodging Maka's attack. He landed facing her, and his arms changed into blades. " _ **It's too bad she didn't realize she had Soul's power sooner. At least I'll put it to some use!**_ " The demon and scythe meister clashed again and again, thrusting at critical points and barely grazing them.

"Scream Resonance." A meek voice came from behind the demon. Crona came rushing toward him with Ragnarok screeching in his hand. He sliced the demon's leg before he could react. They heard a blood curdling scream from his mouth, but he didn't back down. In the blink of an eye, the demon turned and shot Crona far away with the arm cannon.

It wasn't fast enough to intercept more of Kid's bullets at the same time, though, a few holes left behind. The demon lost balance and fell to the ground. In his daze he could pick out the sound of laughter emanating from Blackstar. " _ **I'll teach you not to mock me!**_ " The demon yelled, shooting at the ninja. He instantly vanished into thin air.

"I'm over here!" Blackstar shouted in a different spot from before. "No, here!" Then another. "Right here!" And yet another. "You can't catch me until—" The demon couldn't see Blackstar but he heard him from above and felt a stab of pain. The ninja removed the dagger and lifted his opponent up. "I cut it too close!"

Blackstar through him high in the air and jumped up to meet him, doing his stance and releasing his power. "Blackstar Big Wave!"

The demon landed back on the ground with a stinging shock. " _ **That's enough!**_ " He growled, slowly standing. " _ **It's clear that I can't win this way—**_ "

"What, are you planning on changing up your game on me?" Blackstar asked. "Fine, do whatever. I won't stop until you're dead."

" _ **No, no, I don't have much else up my sleeves along the lines of strategy. I simply mean that I'd like to make a bargain.**_ "

"We don't want anything you're selling!" Soul spat.

" _ **C'mon, just hear me out. I swear it'll be worth your while.**_ " The demon turned back to his true form and with a wave of his hand the students and professor were transported to another area. Where they arrived seemed to be where Samantha's memories were stored, images and sounds from the past floating around them.

 _ **Here's the deal, kiddos,**_ the demon said. _**There are thousands of memories kept here, long-term and short-term. But only three of them have a great significance in Samantha's mind. I'll give you ten minutes to find them all and if you can do so before time's up, the madness will decrease and I'll send you to Samantha. If not, you'll become conscious again and you won't be able to come back.**_

"Can we really find them in all this?" Liz asked.

"I say it's worth a shot," Soul answered. "We've come this far."

"It's a deal, demon," said Kid.

Suddenly a dark cloud appeared overhead displaying a timer. _**Ten minutes starts now.**_

"Let's go!" They all spread out in opposite directions, skimming through the scenes to find any meaning behind them. At the touch, mini movies were played on these holographic papers. Battles, conversations, sensations, all seen and felt. Blackstar was rifting through a few when he discovered something. "Guys, I think I found one!" He yelled.

The group met where he was and they watched the memory. Suddenly it was like they were in the memory itself, standing outside of Gallows Manor on a cold night. "When is this?" Maka asked.

"I think I know," Stein whispered, pointing in front of him at… him. A younger version by maybe ten years, dressed in formal attire and holding a broken sandal. He was looking toward the garden where a young girl with white hair stood. "Sam," Kid muttered.

" _...then I want to stay at your house, Stein. Because for a long while now, I've thought of you as my…_ " Stein remembered this day like no other, and how he would finish her sentence.

" _...As your dad?_ " Both Steins said at the same time. The students watched in awe as he repeated the lines from that day as if he had rehearsed them. " _All this time, I felt the same way,_ " he said, chuckling. " _It was the strangest thing, too. I was afraid you wouldn't want someone like me to be your father. That you would reject me, call me crazy!_ " The memory Stein laughed out loud while real one remained in silence.

Samantha began laughing as well, saying she would have known sooner if only she had looked hard enough. The two flopped down on the grass just like before.

The memory slowly evaporated away in the demon's direction. _**One down, two to go,**_ he said.

"Keep looking," Stein commanded.

Once again searched through the labyrinth of memories for their last two. However, the next one found them first, zooming to Maka and bringing the others in the memory as well. They all remembered this place, they were just here a few minutes ago. Soul was telling Samantha to have faith. Samantha made him promise not to die. _She's holding onto that promise for dear life,_ Soul thought. _That's why it matters to her so much._

 _ **And you matter, too.**_

Soul flinched when he heard his own voice talking back to him in his head. There was no time to find out why when they were down to the last memory. They went to searching. Two minutes gone by and they'd come up short.

Kid's eyes darted around, trying to find anything out of place. Death knows he was good at that. It was so fast that he almost missed the paper zipping through the air, as if trying to get away. "That demon must be cheating," Kid said, summoning Beelzebub and going after it. "You can't outspeed me!"

Kid flew into several different scenes, it was dizzying. Despite all that, he increased his speed. The paper was backed into a corner, Kid diving headfirst. His friends appeared by his side, they were surprised to see it was dark in this memory.

It was a rainy night and they were in a creaky house. They heard a knock at the door, and suddenly the lights were on. They were in Stein's living room, or what would become his living room at least. A twelve-year-old Samantha entered from the right wearing a long black T-shirt and pajama pants.

She stopped at the door. "Dad, is that you?"

"No," a voice croaked from the other side. She unlocked the door and pulled it open, gasping when she saw him. Kid was cut up, bruised, and very pale, shivering from the rain. Samantha gasped in horror as he fell on the welcome mat.

She scooped him up in her arms and brought him to her room, the students following her in. "Don't move," Samantha said, leaving the room and coming back with a first-aid kit and towels. She began dressing Kid's wounds when she heard him mumbling.

"I'm sorry that I'm nothing but trash."

"I thought I told you _not to say that anymore_ ," she whispered with a dark edge to her voice. Samantha finished wrapping his arm— resulting in a grunt from him— and she looked him in the eye. "What the hell happened to you? It isn't like you to get hurt this bad." At this point in life, they were almost as powerful as in the present.

Kid turned his head away in shame, unable to face her. "Please, Kid," she begged, squeezing his hand. He was still staring at the wall when he answered.

"I wanted to make that witch pay for hurting you. When you showed me those scars, I just… I got so angry, I wanted to kill her—"

"You're telling me that you went up against Brangwen all by yourself!?" Samantha yelled. "Are you insane!?"

"I'm strong enough to defeat a witch if I want to!" Kid said turning to look at her.

" _Not_ without a weapon partner and _certainly not_ that witch!"

"You can't tell me who and who not to fight! I'm the meister, I make the decisions!"

"Don't give me that crap, Kid! You're smarter than that. You've admitted before that I've been right, and another thing: I'm a meister, too! And I know for a _fact_ that when you pick fights— if ever— that you don't do it with someone so strong that something like _this_ could happen to you."

"I just wanted to let you relax," Kid said, sitting up and clutching his arm. "All these years we've known each other, you've never caught a break. And I can't stand the thought that you get hurt all the time. You shouldn't have to endure this forever."

"You shouldn't have to worry about it, Kid. It's out of your hands."

"We're partners, Sam! Your fights are my fights, too."

Samantha went quiet for a minute. She looked away. "Then maybe we shouldn't be partners anymore."

"Sam, don't say that!" Kid begged, grabbing her sleeve.

"I don't want you to fight my battles!" She turned to him, frustration and unshed tears in her eyes. "I know that I've already lost someone out there because she tried to fight with me. I don't want to lose you, too! You're too, important, Kid!"

"When are you going to understand?" Kid grabbed Samantha by the shoulders. "I want to fight with you because I _love you!_ " They were completely still and completely quiet.

Samantha was blinking tears, eyes wide. Kid let go of her shoulders and blushed. He tried to turn his head away, but she put her hand on his cheek and turned it back. She closed her eyes and leaned forward, Kid found he was doing the same. And they kissed. And kissed. And fell backwards. And kissed again.

 _ **Well, I guess that's that.**_ The memory faded and they were standing above a now shrunken demon. _**You've won the game, congrats.**_

"You'll send us to her?" Soul asked.

 _ **Just as promised,**_ he said. _**But be warned, what awaits isn't as easy as this trial.**_ The demon suddenly crumbled and vanished, never to return.

"Great," Blackstar said. The students were transported again, just next to giant soul where they'd find their friend.

OAO…

 **I'm so sorry I didn't get to this sooner. It's been rough. Rest assured, though, the last chapter will be out this week. See ya!**


	27. Chapter 27

I'm crying a little on the inside, guys. Today, we come to a close. It's been an adventure, even if some chapters were a little iffy. Thank you all so much for your support on my first ever story. It means more than you know.

I don't own Soul Eater, but I'm glad to say I drew inspiration from it.

OAO…

He couldn't feel his fingers anymore. Not that his body was real, but the fabrication of his hands was beginning to falter. So many years of playing the piano, yet only now were Soul's fingers going numb.

 _ **Because I'm losing control.**_

He was fumbling over the keys, tripping up most of the songs. And it was having a bad effect on Samantha.

 _ **She could die and all I can do is sit here and play. What do I do? What would Maka do right now?**_

And then it occurred to him, she was right over there in her bed. Normally she couldn't be woken up while Samantha was asleep. But with everything that had been going on, maybe…

 _ **Maka?**_ Soul called. _**Hey, can you hear me? Maka?**_ He waited for a sound. Nothing. He called again. No response. Soul found himself shouting at her, begging her to get up. _**C'mon, I know you can do it! If this place is crumbling apart on us, maybe just for one second you make an exception! Move! Get up! Do something!**_ Maka remained still.

Soul was frustrated and angry by this. For all the time they'd been in this place alone together, he never got to talk to her, to interact with her. He wanted that ability back. _**Please, Maka. Talk to me.**_

He waited. And waited. But she didn't speak.

Soul's numb fingers suddenly stopped playing and clenched into fists. He raised his hands and slammed them down on the keys. He flung his head back and screamed. And then he cried.

 _ **I want out of here,**_ Soul said. _**I want to touch you again. Do you hear me, Maka!? I want to be your partner again!**_ Just as he said that, another piece of the room crumbled and flew away. Soul looked down at his hands, his fake hands unable to bleed from the slam. _**What am I doing?**_ He clenched them again, then went back to playing. _**If I keep worrying about what I want, Sam will lose to me.**_

He knew the lullaby by heart so he spared a glance behind him, to the entrance. _**Where ever you guys are, hurry.**_

OAO…

"How much farther?" Blackstar yelled over the loud wind tunnel effect of the soul they marched through. It reminded him of the magnetic field on Lost Island when they tried to recover Brew.

"Just a little more!" Maka answered. "I can feel the other Soul's wavelength nearby." She stopped walking. "It's strange, it feels like he's hurting somehow."

"Let's pick up the pace, then," Kid said. She nodded. "Right."

They all broke out into a sprint, and not long after they reached the other side. It was just like where they had been before, only more broken, barely lit by candlelight, and filled with piano music. "Soul's playing," Maka whispered. "Something's wrong with it."

"Yeah, he keeps messing up," Blackstar agreed.

"He's around here somewhere, if we head further I should be able to feel him out."

"And Sam?" Kid asked.

"She's bound to be somewhere nearby," she replied, walking ahead and sensing for Soul and herself. They were a few feet away. "C'mon."

The closer they got, the stronger the feeling of dread felt, like a pollution to the wavelength. _Why? Why does he feel like this?_

 _ **Maka!?**_

"What?" Maka asked aloud, looking at her scythe. "That wasn't me," he said.

 _ **It's me! I'm over here!**_ Out of nowhere, more candles illuminated the room and showed what they were looking for; the other Soul was still sitting on piano bench, playing away like the first time they saw him. Only this time he was more distracted, trying to get a tiny glimpse of the people behind him. He sighed with both relief and exhaustion. _**You finally made it.**_

"What's happening to you?" Maka asked, she could feel his pain the most as she stood beside him.

 _ **I'm trying my hardest not to lose my grip, but I don't know how much longer I can hold for.**_

"What do you mean?"

 _ **I'm not sure if my Maka is going through the same thing,**_ he explained. _**But like the witch said, I can feel myself taking control of Sam's soul. You have to stop me.**_

"But why are you taking over?"

 _ **Because I can't help but want to be with my Maka again, just one more time. I know that if I take her soul she won't exist, but still… You have to stop me somehow. Get rid of me if you have to, I don't want to be alive if Sam gets destroyed in the process.**_

"Don't be so quick to offer yourself up," Maka said. "It may not come to that. Now where's the other me?"

He pointed to the far right, she was laying on the same bed. The real Maka dashed over to her, then turned back to the other Soul. "What'll happen if we take her off the bed?"

He gave her a confused look then answered, _**Nothing, she'll still be asleep.**_

"Good." Maka picked her doppelganger up bridal style. "Now we need a way to move you with the piano."

"What're you planning, Maka?" Crona asked.

"We have to take them with us to Sam. If we somehow need them, then we can we can't waste time by making trips back. Does this piano have wheels?"

 _ **If there were wheels, I would have used them,**_ the other Soul answered.

Suddenly they all heard laughing from the blue-haired meister. "C'mon, you guys, who needs wheels when you've got Blackstar? You're looking at someone who does five thousand push ups everyday. Lifting a piano would be no sweat for me!"

Maka passed her clone over to her partner while she carried the other Soul on her shoulders. She made sure that when Blackstar lifted the piano that he could be at the right height to play it. _**We're all set!**_ Soul said. _**Samantha isn't far off, we can make it!**_

"Let's go!" Maka yelled.

They ran through what seemed like a field of candles, some people taking turns carrying the clones. Soon they reached the soul's core, the source of Samantha's wavelength. Where orange met blue, almost like they stood at the horizon point as day became night. Here the winds were even stronger than before, pushing against each other in a battle for control.

"Where is she?" Stein yelled over the noise.

"I don't understand! I feel her here!" Maka replied.

They all set down who and what they held and looked all around. Suddenly Blackstar saw something high above them. "Up there!" Kid flew up to retrieve it, and he almost fell out of shock. Samantha was changing even more rapidly than before. Her hair was flashing white, blonde, and brunette, lengthening and shortening, straightening and curling.

"You're getting worse," Kid muttered sadly, grabbing her. _It's okay, though. We have her mind and body here, we can find a solution._ Samantha's eyes— rapidly changing between green, red, and blue— snapped open and she popped out of sight. In an instant she reappeared in front of her Soul and Maka, shielding them with her body. "Don't!" She pleaded.

"Sam, what are you doing?" Kid said as he landed.

"Please don't take them!" She repeated.

"If we don't then you die! There isn't any time left to argue!"

"But— but if they leave then _they'll_ die!" Samantha lowered her guard but stayed in place. "I know I have the real deal, the real Soul Evans and Maka Albarn, as my friends. But these two…" Her voice drifted off, and she turned to look at her conscience. "They're a part of me."

Her Soul looked away in sadness, and stopped playing the piano, his fingers hovering over the keys. He'd never really done anything else but play and talk over the last sixteen years. He was tired. Suddenly he did something he was forbidden to do for all that time. Soul stood up. He walked up to Samantha, much to her surprise. And he hugged her.

 _ **I know that you don't want us to leave,**_ Soul said. _**But you don't need us anymore. You can fight on your own, think on your own, exist on your own. It's your soul, to do what you want with it. I want you to be free. And Maka…**_ He looked at his sleeping meister with longing. _**If I can get out of here, I can talk to her one last time.**_

Samantha stared at Soul, taking in the look he made at Maka. She recognized it. She'd made it before. "I was really hoping…" her voice cracked. "... that you would teach me the piano before you left."

 _ **Will you settle for the original?**_ Her Soul asked with a sad smile.

Samantha rubbed her eyes. "I guess so."

The two Souls locked eyes. _**You will do it, right?**_

"You kidding?" Soul grinned. "It would be uncool of me not to."

"This is starting to get weird," Blackstar said.

And they all woke up, holding onto the mind and body to make sure they would come with them.

OAO…

When they jolted back from sleep, the first thing they noticed was that one of them was different from before. Samantha's hair was dark brown, her eyes blue, and her soul was now stable.

But two more people had sprung up. They were slowly rising from slumber. One of them, a boy with white hair, wore a suit and tie. His hands were bleeding. And the other, a girl with pigtails and a black dress, showed great difficulty in shifting to her hands and knees.

The boy found himself running over to the girl. "It's okay, I've got you," he said, helping her onto her feet. "I'm here."

The girl snapped her head up to look at him. He responded with a shark-toothed smile. She glomped him and bawled into his chest. "I missed you so much," she cried.

"I missed you, too."

They both began to notice that their bodies were fading away. The boy put his hand in hers and transformed into a scythe. She spun him around in a dozen quick circles before they both disappeared.

OAO… _Somewhere_ not _in Death City_

The beach was by far the best place for all the students to escape the academy for a while. After all that happened, everyone needed a vacation. And a chance to enjoy their newfound freedom. Kid and Samantha especially. They went out on long walks and no one ever found out where they went, at least that's what they said they were doing. Soul and Maka enjoyed each other's company, too, and knew not to take it for granted. Blackstar did Death knows how many trips swimming all the way out into the ocean. At some points all the students were together.

They had all the time in the world now. But more importantly, the hotel had a piano room.

OAO…

Thanks again for everything. Be on the lookout for my next title, Rendered Down.


End file.
